The Child Who Shouldn't Be Alive
by NoamPow7
Summary: Cyan's story started out just like the rest of them. She got found by some monsters, got taken to camp, and realized that she was really a demigod. The only difference is she is a child of a goddess who shouldn't have children. In addition to that, her family becomes way more complicated past the god-like side. Follow Cyan on her adventure with Percy Jackson & Company
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: Hello! So, I have created this story involving a character that takes place after the events of Trials of Apollo. It includes characters from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, Heroes of Olympus series, and Trials of Apollo series. I do not own the characters from those books by Rick Riordan. I have created and edited this story in my head for over a year now, and I have finally decided to share the story to you all. I have only put up the first few chapters so far because I would like to see if many would even be interested in reading this story. It is unique as I have never heard a demigod story quite like mine. Please like, comment, and subscribe if you would like to hear more! Enjoy!

Chapter 1: What Time Is It? Not Quite Summer

When I woke up this morning, I had thought that I would no longer be an awkward Sophomore, but a grown-up Junior who was going to have the coolest summer yet now that I was older. But I had never been more wrong in my life, and this is after I made the decision to throw a brick at a raging goat-lion-dragon Animal-Kingdom Smoothie creature. I'll get back to that later.

As usual, my alarm sounded off at 7am. The song "Wake Me Up" rang in my ears through my iPhone. The lines, "So wake me up when it's all over, when I'm wiser and I'm older", never had been more true in the case of this Thursday morning. I slowly opened my eyes, seeing the white popcorn ceiling above me. For some reason, at this very moment my bed had never felt so comfortable. But that is usually the case when you first wake up in the morning and don't want to leave your bed. I then remembered that today was the last day of school, and if I have gotten up 184 days for the learning death hole, then I can surely wake up for one more day.

I rolled out of bed, the cool sheets leaving my body and staying on the bed in a mangled mess. Normally this was not the case. Normally they were nice and neat, showing that I hadn't moved much throughout the night. Occasionally the sheets would be tousled from when I had nightmares and would squirm around in the night. But for the past few weeks, every single night I had nightmares. The nightmares consisted of monsters, people with swords, and even some strange goat men thingies. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I mean, I stopped eating chocolate before bed a long time ago, so it definitely couldn't be that.

I walked down the hall and took a left into my bathroom. My legs were aching a bit from my cross country practice yesterday. Coach always makes me do extra miles at the end of training. I don't really mind it that much though. Running has always been my escape from reality. I like to pretend that I'm with my mom and dad, and come up with all the adventures we would have if they were here.

I looked into the bathroom mirror and see my brown haired, blue eyed face staring back at me. My Grandma always says I look like an Emma Watson with blue eyes, but I am not nearly as pretty as her. I definitely don't have her perfect skin as I have faint scars on my face from previous acne and getting cut by moving branches as I run through the woods on cross country meets. Seriously, those branches came out of nowhere.

After I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and put on my school uniform (yuck) for the day, I headed down stairs. My Grandma was sitting at the table, like usual, drinking her black coffee and eating a bagel. She looked up from the newspaper at me smiling. "Good morning my dear," she said to me with a little twinkle in her eye. I could tell she had been crying a little as she normally did on this day every year. Not only was her only granddaughter growing older and graduating another year in school, but this was also the day she lost her son, my dad. I was only 2 years old when it happened. I don't remember much of what happened either. Supposedly my mom and dad were driving to the store when their car got hit head on by a semi-truck that was spinning out of control. I do remember, though, my Dad and Mom's kind smiles, all the laughs and giggles we had, the bed time stories about heroes, and the trips to Grandma's house on holidays. After they passed away 14 years ago, my Grandma became my legal guardian and the rest is history.

"Good morning, Grandma", I replied as I headed to the toaster to toast my own bagel. I could feel her eying me, wondering if I had been crying about my parents too this morning. "Did you have a good sleep?" she asked. "Have the nightmares stopped?"

"I slept fine. I still had nightmares though." She knit her eyebrows and slowly turned to her paper, mumbling softly to herself.

Once I finished breakfast, I headed to the living room to get my backpack and lunch box. I grabbed my car keys and headed towards the front door. "See ya Grandma. Have a good day," I said as I opened the door. But before I could walk out, Grandma came around the corner from the kitchen. She looked at me, her eyebrows were still knit, an indication that she was nervous and concerned. "Okay darling," she said. "Please be very careful, though. Especially today."

It was strange that lately, after I had told her about my nightmares, she began to say this to me. Of coarse she had told me before to be careful, but for some reason she has been extra concerned lately. But I chalked it up to the fact that I was getting older.

"Yes, Grandma, I will. Love you," I replied as I shut the door behind me.

The first part of my day was actually quite normal. I met up with my friends Jesse and Laura, who are also on the cross country team, like usual.

"Well, it's the last day of being lower classmen!" Jesse exclaimed, beaming widely behind my open locker door.

"Thank goodness," I replied. "I can't wait for this summer's beach trip with just the three of us. It's going to be so great! We will officially be young adults."

"Heck yeah," said Laura smiling. She peered down the hall past my locker, her eyes sparkling. That could only mean one thing, Christian was heading down the hall.

"Look at your 3 o'clock, Mr. Hottie is walking towards us," Laura said raising her eyebrows.

I wouldn't have been surprised if she'd began drooling right then. I looked behind my locker to see, sure enough, Christian walking towards this end of the hall like he always did. Trailing behind him was his posy of football jocks and the cheer leaders. Your classic high school stereotype situation. It could've literally been a situation taken from a movie about high schoolers. He rarely talked to people outside his posy. But occasionally, when other athletes did good in competitions and games he would say something to us.

I turned back to my locker, trying to load the textbooks I needed for the day in my bag. Even though it was the last day of classes, you could never be too prepared.

"Cy! What are you doing!" Laura exclaimed. "He is going to talk to you! Remember you got first in your meet two nights ago!"

"Will you quit it. He's just a guy who only cares about himself and is trying to seem like a genuine nice guy," I said, rolling my eyes.

To be honest, I didn't really know Christian. I just know that he annoyed me to no end. I mean, of coarse he was popular. Not only did he look similar to the movie star Tom Holland, just with blond hair, but he also had an amazingly athletic body, good grades in school, and was starting quarterback of the football team. He would then make it seem like he's everyone's friend, only just to ignore you when you didn't do good in a competition or meet up to his standards. We were both good athletes, so we both had a mutual understanding of that. But beyond that, I had never spoken to him. He was also a bit too cocky and confident for my taste.

He stopped behind me and my locker. I could feel everyone looking at him and me. Of coarse I was expected to turn around because he was the coolest guy, and apparently everyone's eyes were supposed to be on him. I hear him clear his throat behind me. I turn around to see him smirking with his perfectly tanned face and white teeth. His hazel eyes staring back at me. Oh, how I hate him. What a perfect life he must have, not worrying about anything.

I smile back at him my eyebrows raised. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to say great job on finishing first in your meet the other day. That's awesome," Christian said.

"Thanks," I said as I turned around and busied myself with fixing my locker. And that was the end of that conversation.

I could hear Christian and his posy of followers turn and continue heading down the hallway.

"Oh, he is so nice and cute!" Laura said.

"But you could've said a bit more to him, Cyan," Jesse said, with a frown on her face.

"You guys, he is totally faking being nice and 'one of the athletes'. He is a rich kid who has both his parents and a perfect life, and he knows that he's better than everyone else. So, I am not going to give him the satisfaction of having everyone at the school bowing at his feet," I said feeling the heat rising in my cheeks.

"Ugh, you're so stubborn," Laura said.

I swung my book bag around my shoulder and slammed my locker shut just as the first school bell rang.

"C'mon. We don't want to be late for our last day of classes," I said as I turned and walked towards the opposite direction of where Mr. Perfect went.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: I Am Glad I Didn't Throw Up On The Last Day of School

Finally, after my first half of the day at school, it was lunch time. Everyone loves lunch time. It's especially great in Florida where we can eat outside.

Laura, Jesse, and I sat in our usual spots under the big white pavilion. We always sat towards the outside of the pavilion, that way we could beat the post-lunch rush to class. Unluckily, we had to have the same lunch period as Christian. Luckily, that meant that everyone was crowded towards that side of the pavilion, giving us more room. Everyone loved to hear the many stories he had to tell for some reason. They were about all the adventures he'd been on with his mom and dad who are both historians and archaeologists and who wanted to find more artifacts for the many museums they owned. He made it sound like he was Indiana Jones going on all these big adventures, escaping mummies and shooting down evil treasure hunters. Anyone sensible would know that these stories aren't true. In the case of my Sophomore class, there was only the three of us who were actually sensible.

Lunch was going just fine, until the big bang happened. Something large landed on top of the pavilion making a dent right in the middle of it. Luckily everyone ran out from under the pavilion to see what it was because just as that happened something swooped down from the sky and dove straight into the pillars holding up the pavilion. The pavilion came toppling down, spraying dust and debris. I jumped to the side just as a pillar toppled in my direction. I couldn't see Laura and Jesse while I was on the ground, but I assumed that they were okay on the other side of the pillar. I got up and jogged towards where most of the other Sophomores were originally standing before the pavilion collapsed to try and see if there was anyone who needed help. All I found though was Christian laying on the ground, slowly sitting up. His hair was tousled and he had dust and dirt on him. He sat up coughing and looked up at me.

"What just happened?" he asked.

"I don't know," I replied as beads of sweat started to form above my brow. Something didn't feel right. I look across the debris to the other side of the pavilion. I was confused to find that everyone was over there, including Laura and Jesse. They were all scattered, either laying on the ground, slowly getting up like Christian, or running inside the school building screaming.

Christian stood up next to me, looking across the pavilion with the same confused expression as I had.

"What the-," he started to say, but a big shadow appeared behind us.

We slowly turned around, and part of me wishes I hadn't. Staring right back at us was not one, but two of the strangest creatures I had ever seen in my life. I blinked twice hoping I was imagining what I was seeing.

The animals, if that's what you want to call them, looked like they were made in an animal blender. They both had the body of a lion, but that was only the first part. On the right side of the lion's head, popping out of its right shoulder, was a goat head. And if that wasn't strange enough, on the left shoulder of the lion popped out the head of what seemed like dragon. The dragon's head had purple horns and muddy-brown, scaly skin. A snake-like tongue flicked out of its mouth as it hissed. On top of that the lion had bat wings sprouting out of its midsection.

Both creatures snarled at Christian and me. I slowly backed away, trying not to startle it and have it chase after me. Christian, though, seemed to be frozen in fear. His eyes were wide and his feet glued in place as sweat dripped down the side of his face.

"Christian," I said softly. He didn't respond. "Christian, just back away slowly."

But he didn't move. You'd think for a guy who had so many near-death adventures he would have some common sense of survival instinct. But Mr. Perfect seemed to have been bit of a scaredy cat.

One of the creatures started to growl and creep closer to Christian. I had to do something. No matter how much I hated him, I wasn't going to let him die at the claws of an Animal Kingdom Smoothie. So, I did the most sensible thing. I through a brick at the creature closest to Christian. The brick hit the creature on the lion's head with a thud. Both of the creatures turned all six heads on me. One of the goat heads bleated as if it were saying, "How stupid is this girl?"

Both creatures then seemed to decide to deal with me first as Mr. Perfect wasn't going anywhere soon because he was still frozen with fear. I spun on my heals and jumped on top of the pavilion debris. I started to run towards the school, hoping to possibly reach the doors before the lion-goat-dragon caught up to me. I grabbed another brick, turned and threw it blindly as I ran in a desperate attempt to slow the creatures down in any way possible. Unfortunately, my aim was off and the brick sailed past the creature and bonked Christian right on top of his head. He crumpled to the ground. _Great_ I thought, _Now the whole school is going to hate me for ruining Mr. Perfect's head_.

As I had turned around to throw the other brick in my hand, I saw a hint of gold in the sky. I glanced up to see two gold chariots attached to flying horses riding towards us. At that point, I hadn't thought twice about it as both the Animal Smoothies were stalking towards me.

Christian groaned off to the side, slowly coming to after having passed out for the second time. After hearing him stir, the creature towards my left shoulder turned its dragon head towards Christian. The creature to my right's goat head bleated as if he were giving the left creature the go ahead to approach Christian. The Animal Smoothie to my left turned 180 degrees and stalked towards Christian. I looked at the creature to my right, who still had all 6 eyes staring back at me. The lion's head was licking his chops, the dragon's head was hissing with its snake-like tongue, and the goats head, well the goat's head didn't really look at me hungrily. In fact, it would've looked like a cute little goat had it not been attached to a dragon and a lion.

The creature started to walk closer to me. I bent down and picked up another piece of stone slab and chucked it at the creature. It smacked the dragon's head right between its beady yellow eyes. The dragon's head slumped slightly. The goat and lion head turned to the dragon head looking at it like it was someone who had just asked a stupid question in class (I know teachers say there are no stupid questions, but I mean c'mon. Some of the questions people ask in my class have really just common sense answers, or the teacher literally just said the answer before said stupid person asked the question). This then gave me some time to run a few yards and pick up another easy to grab brick to throw at the creature as it pursued me.

As I turned around, I saw that the second creature who was stalking Christian was in a crouching position. Thankfully, what happened next saved his life. Just as the creature pounced into the air to tear a delirious Christian to pieces, one of the horses on the golden chariot rammed right into the Animal Smoothie.

"Take that doofus!" the driver of the chariot yelled, as it soared back into the sky. The driver seemed to be about my age. He had dirty blonde curls and carried what looked like a ukulele behind his back.

The other chariot circled around the scene. In it, was a boy who seemed a few years older than me. He had black, tousled hair.

"Apollo! Why don't you just use your godly powers and zap these things to Tartarus!" he yelled. I assumed he was talking to the boy in the other chariot, and by 'these things' I hoped he was referring to the Animal Smoothies, not Christian and I.

"Because," the curly headed boy replied, "that's too easy, and there is no spectacular show in taking the easy way out!"

Just then, the creature that was knocked to the ground by the flying horse started to get up. The lion head, dragon head, and goat head all roared, hissed, and bleated at the same time. The creature then spread and flapped its hideous bat wings as it took to the sky after the two chariots. I was amazed by how elegant and fast the creature moved through the sky. I don't think the two boys in the chariots expected the creature to pursue with such speed either. The creature banged into the golden chariot that held the curly headed boy. The chariot lurched to the side causing a frenzy for the flying horse and its rider.

The events that happened next all happened in a complete and quick blur. Just as the curly headed boy's chariot got knocked off balance, the other boy in the chariot took off towards Christian, who was still crumpled on the ground. At that same moment, the creature closest me started to run towards me. I did the most sensible thing and turned and ran in the opposite direction. I realized then that I was not going to be able to out run the creature who had the body of a lion, which could run faster than a human being over short distances. At that same moment, I felt the cool stone that I had picked up between my clenched right fist. I figured that I could at least by myself a few seconds if I threw something in the general direction of the creature. I was only 20 yards away from the end of the collapsed pavilion and the doors to the school. If I could just make it through the doors I'd be able to lock them on the other side and buy me a few more precious moments to notify the police, animal control, or whatever and whoever it was that could take care of these things. While mid sprint, I turned and chucked the stone slab towards the creature.

Normally when I run during a cross country meet or practice I have no problem looking over my shoulder while running. But in cross country at least your running on a more-or-less paved, flat surface. This is quite different from running on a collapsed pavilion with piles of dust and stone debris everywhere. So, it would seem that the bricks and stones that had helped buy me seconds against the creatures would lead to my demise. As I wasn't paying attention to my footing when I through the stone at the creature, I tripped over a brick.

I hit the collapsed pavilion hard. I thought I heard a crack on my right shoulder as it took the brunt of the impact. Pain seized up my arm and sides. I rolled onto my back. It seemed like my effort to by those extra seconds didn't even work, as the creature was almost on top of me.

You know when you hear stories about people who had near death experiences and they all say that time seemed to slow and their life flashed before their eyes. Well it's true. Because this is exactly what happened to me at that moment.

The creature coiled and sprang into the air, its claws glinting and sharp, ready to tear me to shreds as it would come on top of me. I knew as this happened that this was the end, that I was going to die to an Animal Smoothie.

Images from my life flashed through my mind. All of my happiest memories included being with my family. My Grandma's house at Christmas Eve and all of the cousins, other family, and friends gathered around singing carols. Running the Turkey Trot with my cross country team, and then eating a Thanksgiving Day meal with the family and friends in the area. All the summer time fun and laughter.

Then the memories of my parents flooded my brain. My Mom and Dad reading me bed time stories about heroes who saved the day. My Dad comforting me when there was thunder and lightning during the night, and saying, "Don't be afraid. It's only the sky being angry." My Mom sharing stories about the beauty of family and how important it is. Both my parents hugging me together; all of us wrapped together in each other's embrace.

The creature was almost on top of me. I put up my hands as a natural defense mechanism. If I was going to have one last thought in my life, I am glad it was about my family.

As the images flowed through my head and the creature inches from me, a warm sensation flowed through my outstretched arms. There was a humming in my ear. Beams of light shot out of my hands straight through the creature. The creature made a scream that sounded like a whaling T-Rex, and vaporized instantly. I put down my hands and the warm sensation along with the light and humming ceased. In front of me where the creature was, a pile of what looked like glittering ash now laid.

I looked up to see the two boys in the chariots on the other side of the pavilion staring at me, their eyes wide in what seemed like disbelief. The corners of my vision started to fade, and the world seemed to spin upside down as I felt myself pass out.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Visits From Mom and Dad Are Always Fun I Guess

It seems as though every time I fall asleep, or just simply close my eyes, the nightmares attack me. But for some reason, this time the dream was different.

The nightmares started out like they always do. My 2-year-old self is sitting in my old house looking out the bedroom window at the foreboding sky above. Rain is pouring down and every so often there is a lightning strike followed by a clap of thunder. I was hugging one of my childhood blankets tight to my chest. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I was genuinely scared. I felt as though the lightning was coming for me. I cried and screamed as a huge lightning strike cracked and the thunder that followed shook the house. My father came running into my room yelling my name.

Once he saw me at the window he exhaled, the worry leaving his face. He strode over and picked me up into his big strong arms. He then closed the curtains to the window so that the storm was no longer visible. He took me over to the corner where we read our bedtime stories in the rocking chair. He sat down in the rocking chair with me on his lap. He looked at me with his electric blue eyes. My Grandma always says I have my father's eyes, that they are as blue as the sky.

"My little Cyan," he said. "There is no need to be afraid of the thunder and lightning. Do you know why?"

I shook my head back and forth, still too afraid to speak.

"Well now. I am going to tell you a little story about why you shouldn't be scared of the lightning and thunder."

The scene then shifted to my Grandma's house. This was different to my other nightmares, as normally the scenes changed from different monsters and battles of various events that I didn't have any connection to.

My Grandma's house was decorated as it normally was on Christmas Eve. In front of me stood the Christmas tree decorated with various ornaments, and beside it the fire place was blazing. On the little coffee table to my right was a plate full of Baklava, my favorite sweet treat. I could tell that the Baklava was fresh out of the oven, as the sweet cinnamon smell filled the room.

"Oh, my child," a voice behind me said.

I turned to find a lady with flowing black hair staring back at me. My Mom smiled softly at me, her eyes crinkling as she did so. I ran to her and gave her a big hug. She embraced me and kissed me on my forehead. My mom was beautiful in a stern way. She was a very strong and tough lady.

"My darling," she said as she held my shoulders and looked into my eyes. I could feel tears slowly forming at the corners of my eyes.

"You are so brave, and you have come so far."

I smiled back at her. Just hearing her voice again made me smile.

Her expression then turned serious. A look of deep concern, and maybe regret, passed over her face.

"But it seems that you can no longer stay hidden. _They_ have found you," she said as she started to stand up straight.

"Your life will not be the same from here on out. You are going to face many obstacles. Not just with monsters but with your fellow brethren as well. Many people are going to hate you and want you dead. I hope, though, that some will help you and befriend you despite your lineage."

I knit my eyebrows and scrunched up my nose, something I do when I am confused. I was shocked to hear her say those words. I didn't understand what she was talking about. I hadn't done anything wrong in my life, ever! The worst thing I've ever done was lie to my Grandma once about eating only one lollypop when I was around 5 years old, when in fact I actually ate two.

"Mom, what are you talking about? I don't-"

"There's not much time sweetie for me to explain. Just know that you are very strong. Stronger than most. Probably the strongest child ever."

She began to fade away. The scene around me started to shake, and the ground beneath me started to crumble away.

"Mom! Don't leave me!"

"I am always with you my darling," she said. "Know that no matter what, I do love you deeply."

With those last words she completely faded away, and I started to fall into nothingness as the floor and Christmas Eve scene at Grandma's house disappeared.


	4. Chapter 4

I sat up with a jolt, breathing heavily. Thank goodness the nightmare with the Animal Smoothies and my parents was over. I don't think I could've taken anymore craziness.

I looked straight ahead, expecting to see my Carolina blue bedroom wall with my family photos across from me. Instead what I saw was a cot with a cloth and tent-like background in front of me. Where the heck was I? I looked to the left of me. Along the tent like structure was rows of cots on either side. There was a little slit in the tent-like structure about 20 feet away. I assumed that it was the entrance and exit to the structure as just beneath the slit I could see grass and a hint of sunshine.

I looked to the right of me and almost jumped out of my skin. Starring at me was a boy about 18 years old. He had bright blonde wavy hair that was cut just above chin level, and he was wearing a bright orange t-shirt, some ripped carpi jeans, and Rainbow flip-flops. He looked very much like an Australian surfer hippie. He held a damp cloth in his left hand and a block of what looked like golden butter in his right hand. He smiled at me. When he smiled, the boy seemed to resemble Christian in an uncanny way, but he also looked very different at the same time.

"Hello there! And welcome to the happiest place on Earth!" he said beaming his white teeth.

I squinted at him and scrunched up my nose.

"You mean Disney World?" I asked.

"Psssh. You wish," said another voice. The voice came from the back-left corner of the large tent. Another boy who was quite thin and pale was slumped there with his head resting on his fist. He wore all black except for the white skull on his t-shirt. His jet-black hair was about chin length and fell in shaggy waves. He had a slight smirk on his face.

The boy in the orange shirt turned and glared at him.

"Please excuse my boyfriend," he said as turned back towards me. "He can be a mood dampener."

"But I am working on it," the dark haired boy added.

The blonde haired boy rolled his eyes. "I'm Will and that's Nico in the corner."

"Um, hi," was all I could manage to say. I wasn't willing to give my name up to complete strangers. We all stood there for about 10 awkward seconds, not knowing what to say.

Finally, I decided to break the silence. "So, um, where am I and why am I here?"

"Well, as to where you are, you are at a wonderful place call Camp Halfblood," Will answered. "And as to why you are here, do you remember those three headed animal things that attacked you? Those are called Chimeras."

"Wait, you mean that really happened to me? Like, that wasn't a nightmare?" I asked.

"I'm afraid not," Will replied. "After you passed out, Percy and Apollo brought you and the other boy to the infirmary for me to treat your injuries. A demigod is lucky enough to survive an attack by one Chimera, but by two Chimeras…," he trailed off, shaking his head. "Many unidentified demigods have died lately from attacks by just one Chimera."

"You should be dead," Nico said in the corner. I almost forgot he was there. It's amazing how he just seemed to disappear in the shadows.

Will turned on him, and then looked back at me. He smiled sheepishly, seeming to be a bit embarrassed. "Would you please excuse me. I need to go speak to my boyfriend about his manners. I'll be back in a second."

Will then turned to face Nico. "You," he said to Nico, pointing a finger at him. "In the back supply closet. Now."

Will marched over to Nico. Nico still slouched in his corner rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said exhaling. He got up slowly, and Will and Nico disappeared in the supply closet further in the back.

I sat there in the cot trying to wrap my brain around what Will had told me. What he said made no sense. Camp Half-blood? What kind of name is that? Besides, what kind of camp has a medic that is an 18-year-old boy who wears sandals when he's working? And why should I trust what he says to me?

All these thoughts flooded my head, and I definitely needed to clear my mind. The only way I knew how to do that was to run. That was the only thing that I knew was true and real. I glanced back over to the supply closet to make sure that Nico and Will weren't coming out. I know Will told me to stay put, but I can't help it. I had to get out of there. I looked to my left where I saw the grass in the small slip opening in the tent. I decided that that was my way out. I pulled back the covers. Luckily, no one took off my Nike sneakers. I still wore my school uniform, which consisted of a navy-blue polo shirt with our school logo on the left shirt pocket, and a navy blue and white plaid skort (Yuck). I jumped off the cot and ran. I burst through the tent exit.

I didn't even take a second to see where I was at or what was around me; I just started to run. The bright sunlight stung my eyes, so I squinted just to make sure I didn't run into something that could kill me. The ground sloped beneath my feet; my legs were pounding and my arms pumping. I ran hard not knowing what to think, just knowing that I had to get away. The wind stung my face and made my hair fly back as I ran. Strange noises filled my ears. I could hear the clashing of metal, the laughter and yells of people, and the trickle of running water. The faint smell of strawberries filled my nose. I could feel my lungs and legs starting to burn and my heart beating faster; a feeling that was very familiar to me.

After about 200 yards, I started to slow down my pace and pay a bit more attention to what was around me now that my head was clearing. I crossed over a stream on a wooden bridge that was in front of me, the loud _thump-thump-thump_ of my feet pounding on the bridge helped me to focus even more. I could open my eyes fully now having adjusted to the sunlight and calmed myself down, but what I saw was nothing I had ever seen before.

Before when I was running without a thought or care, all I had seen was the green grass below me and everything else in my peripheral vision was a blur. Now, though, I could see everything, and there was definitely a lot to see. Straight ahead of me was what appeared to be a large arena. It was made out of white marble and stone. It reminded me of the Greek and Roman game arenas that I learned about in my Classical Mythology class.

I took a sharp right and continued at a jogging pace. Off to my left were a bunch of cabin-type buildings with a giant fire pit in the middle of them. None of the cabins were the same, though, as they each had a unique feature about them. Upon first glance, I noticed one cabin that had a machinery look to it, another that had skulls and was painted as black as ash, and another with barbed wire on it. I found that odd, but I kept on going.

As I jogged for a few more steps I started to comprehend the fact that I was not alone. Kids and young adults of all ages were around me. Many of them wore an orange t-shirt that looked exactly like Will's. On top of that, many of the kids wore armor and carried weapons that, strangely enough, resembled the weapons the Greeks carried. They looked exactly like the pictures from my Mythology class. It was almost as if I was at a Renaissance Festival, but instead of the Renaissance time period it was during the reign of the Greek and Roman Empires.

I slowed my pace to a walk. Many of the kids stared at me as I walked by. I could feel their stairs around me, but I continued walking and trying to ignore them. I looked towards my right where a small hill slopped up past the stream I had crossed earlier. I almost stopped in my tracks at what I saw. Was that a dragon? And why did he look like he was guarding a tree? I closed my eyes and shook my head. I must be dreaming or something. First there was a creature with three heads consisting of a goat, lion, and dragon, then there were flying horses, and now there is a full blown dragon not but 400 yards away from me. This is completely impossible; I must be going crazy.

I opened my eyes and looked straight ahead. Just in time too, because if I had waited a half a second later I would've smacked right into a horse butt. I jolted to the side, an instinctive reaction when you're about to run into something. As I was looking towards the front of the horse, what I saw next made my feet glue in place.

Instead of where the horse's neck and head should have been, a man's upper half protruded from the horse's shoulder blades. From the waist up, the man appeared normal. In fact, he could've passed for a teacher at my school. He wore a green vest over a white buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked to be in his late 40's or early 50's, and had a white-grey beard that was neatly trimmed. He had flowing hair that outlined his face and ended just below his ears. But the other half of him is definitely not what you would see a normal teacher in. Below his waist was, well, a horse. The body was white with a flicking white tail.

In front of the man-horse stood two boys. I recognized them as the two boys who were driving the golden chariots. Now that they were closer I could see that the one with the black hair was a bit older than me, but not by much. Besides his black tousled hair, he had green eyes. He was tan like the surfer guys that went to my school; not too dark to where you know they've been tanning, but dark enough to know that they've been out in the sun by the beach for most of the day surfing.

Beside him stood the curly haired boy. He looked a little younger than the dark haired boy, but not by much. He had traces of acne scars on his face and a few freckles. Both were quite cute and handsome in their own ways.

After standing there for a few moments staring at the scene, the two boys turned and looked at me.

"Oh! There she is!" the boy with the curly hair said smiling at me.

The man-horse turned his head to look at me. The look of concern on his face changed into a soft smile.

"Ah," he said, spreading his arms in a warm gesture. "Welcome, my dear, to Camp Half-blood."


	5. Chapter 5

Again, being in complete shock, I had my second awkward silence of the day as I didn't know what to say to the horse-man. Luckily, he seemed like he had gone through this situation before, so he continued on.

The horse-man smiled kindly; wrinkles appeared around his eyes as he did so. "My name is Chiron," he said. "I am the activities director here at Camp."

I nodded, still not wanting to speak.

"My name is Apollo," the curly haired boy said. "And yes, I am sure you are in shock upon my presence. Indeed, I am the god Apollo. You know, lord of the sun, music, and archery; that sort of thing."

I had remembered stories about Apollo. But the boy in front of me definitely didn't seem god-like. In all the stories, Apollo had appeared as the hot celebrity-type god with an amazing body who had the voice of an angel and radiated light. Yes, the curly haired boy was cute, but he didn't seem to fit the description of Apollo in the stories.

Somehow, I found my voice. "I thought Apollo was, you know, like a hot guy. No offense I mean. But you're just a kid." I knew that the comment was rude on my part, but I couldn't help it. I was tired at this point of being confused and I wanted answers to my questions, even if they weren't ones I would normally ask.

The boy smirked at me. He snapped his fingers. Faster than I could blink, in front of me where the curly haired boy stood was the hottest, most perfect man I had ever seen. He had his shirt off, revealing his 8-pack, washboard abs and a perfectly tan body. His skin was flawless. He had the most amazing locks of hair that were golden, and his face features were so perfect that it is hard to describe how perfect and beautiful he really was. Now, the man who stood in front of me _definitely_ looked god-like. He even radiated light.

"Is this hot enough for you?" he said still smirking.

I swallowed hard and shook my head up and down, "Mhmm." I probably had a pretty stupid look on my face. I have never gotten tongue tied by anyone before!

He snapped his fingers and the curly haired boy returned. "I tend to stay in this form when I am here at Camp. I don't like to draw too much attention to myself, at least not here anyway. I used to, but after a little mishap of me being mortal in this form I've seemed to have grown fond of it."

This day just keeps getting crazier and crazier. I have now met a god, which completely goes against all I had believed in before. I was surprised, though, how I was reacting to all of this. Trust me, I felt as though my head was about to explode. But somehow, I was able to remain calm. I guess I tend to do that in the face of danger or stress, but this was the most stressful situation I had ever faced in my life.

The black-haired boy rolled his eyes and then turned to me. "I'm Percy," he said. "Not a god by definition, but I am definitely god-like." He puffed out his chest and seemed to stand a bit taller with his arms crossed.

"That's false. Don't listen to him," a female voice said off to my left. The voice came from a girl who appeared to be a year or two older than me. She had blonde hair that was put up in a ponytail. She wore an orange t-shirt (which I now noticed had the Camps name and emblem on the front) like the previous campers I had seen and jean shorts. She was walking towards us with Christian.

When I saw Christian, I felt my stomach flutter with excitement. Even though I hate him, he was at least someone I knew and something from back home that I could relate to on this crazy day. As he walked over, his facial expression seemed to be a bit muddled up, almost as if he wasn't sure what to think. He was no longer in our school uniform, but now he too wore an orange camp t-shirt with athletic shorts. I made eye contact with him and he smiled at me, but not with his normal confident grin.

Percy uncrossed his arms and slouched back into his normal position. He frowned at the girl. "Whatever," he said. He then quickly stuck out his tongue at her like a 5-year-old.

The girl just smiled and laughed at him.

Chiron cleared his throat. "Annabeth, I assume you have shown Christian all the new facilities?"

"Yep," Annabeth replied. "He seems to have caught on to everything pretty well. He told me he took a Classical Mythology class at his school, so he knew the gist of what I was talking about."

I looked at Christian. He kept glancing over at Apollo nervously and back down at his feet. He seemed to be very uncomfortable.

"Very good," Chiron said. "Christian, why don't you take Miss Cyan around and show her some of the things that Annabeth showed you. Be sure to visit the camp store as well to get Cyan a camp t-shirt. I need to talk with these three about the, uh, _attack_ on the two of you." Chiron seemed to emphasize the word attack almost as if he was going to call it something else but decided against it.

Christian nodded and then looked at me, seeming to regain his normal composure. "Sure thing. Come on Cy, there's a lot I need to show you." As he turned to go, he took one more nervous glance towards Apollo and then continued on in the direction he came with Annabeth. I took one more glance at the group that stood in front of me, and followed Christian.

Christian took me around the whole Camp ground. He took me past the bathroom and showers. He showed me the canoe lake and the amphitheater. We walked at the edge of the beach that apparently faces the Long Island Sound. Beside that there was a huge rock climbing wall, but instead of being a normal climbing wall it had to spew lava out the top, naturally. I saw the mess hall. Christian explained that it was newly designed and refurbished thanks to Annabeth because a giant statue had stepped on the previous one. He didn't really elaborate on that, but I would've like to hear more of that story. I found out that the big Greek stadium structure I had seen earlier was an arena where, believe it or not, they actually practice fighting and hold classic Greek Olympic-style competitions. We passed by the armory, forge, strawberry patches, and Pegasus stables (Guess I really did see flying horses earlier. Man, I hate always being right). We stoped by the camp store just as Chiron had asked to get me some new clothes. I found an orange camp t-shirt that fit me perfectly and some Nike Capri leggings just like the ones I would wear at home.

I started to take the whole thing in. I still thought everything was crazy and I didn't understand why I was here, but I was starting to accept that I wasn't dreaming and that the Greek myths I had learned about were real.

Finally, we reached the cabins I had seen earlier. Christian explained to me that each cabin belonged to a specific god or goddess, and that's where the residents of the camp stayed.

"So, how do you know which cabin you belong in?" I asked. "Do they randomly pick or does a hat sort you into a designated house?"

Christian looked at me and cocked his head a little to the side. "You mean you haven't figured it out yet? Dang, I thought you were smart." A slight grin crossed his face, showing me that he was kidding. It was nice to see him relaxed back into his normal cocky self.

"Shut up," I said frowning back at him. "Seriously, how do you know which cabin you should be in? Do you know which cabin you're in?"

Christian's smirk disappeared, and he looked down at his feet. "You get claimed…by which ever god or goddess is your parent." He looked back up at me, checking to see if that had sunk in my brain yet.

I finally understood why they called it Camp Half-Blood. We were all indeed "half-blood". We must be the so-called demigods I had learned about in class and the stories I used to hear from my parents. I hadn't realized that one of my parents was actually a deity. I mean, I didn't really know them all that much, so I had an excuse for not knowing. But what I didn't understand was the fact that Christian had both of his parents.

"But, how does that make sense? You have both your parents. Is one of them a god or goddess who lives with you?"

Christian heaved a sigh. "I do have both my parents. It's just, well, my Dad isn't actually my real dad. He has always been my step-dad. I just call him and refer to him as Dad because he's been my father-figure for as long as I can remember. I never knew my real father…until now at least." He bit is lower lip and looked to the sky, making it seem as though he was anxious and very uncomfortable.

"So, who's your godly father then?" I asked.

After a few seconds, he took his eyes off the sky and looked at me. "Apollo…Apollo is my real father." He looked like he was about to hurl.

"You mean…like that dude…wow, that's crazy," was all I could manage.

It was kind of funny actually. I felt like I was holding my breath so that way I didn't laugh. Apollo, the curly haired kid who looked a year younger than me, was Christian's dad. I know Apollo is actually a gazillion times older than me, but still. Just picturing a 15-year-old kid as Christians dad was pretty hysterical. It made sense, though, why Christian was the way he is. Christian is extremely handsome and hot, mortally speaking, and has a confidence and light about him that his dad, whom I just met, had. They were both the type of guy you remember instantly.

"Yeah," Christian said forlornly.

"How did you find out?" I asked.

"They claim you. A bright light appears above your head and a symbol of the god or goddess shows up. Apparently, we were supposed to be claimed a long time ago; generally, demigods get claimed when they're about 12 or 13, maybe even earlier. When I got claimed, Percy got really upset with Apollo for claiming me so late," Christian explained.

Before I could ask any more questions, Percy and Annabeth showed up.

"How's it going you two?" Annabeth asked, smiling at me.

"Pretty good, I guess. Just trying to take everything in," I said.

"Yeah, it may take a while," Annabeth replied. "But from what Christian tells me, you're a pretty tough girl."

I glanced over at Christian. He suddenly seemed to be very interested in the sky again.

Annabeth seemed pretty cool. She was the type of person who you wanted to be like. She created an aura of confidence, intelligence, and strength. I hoped that me and her could become good friends eventually. She seemed like she knew what was up.

Before I could ask anymore questions, a noise that sounded like a big conch horn blared all around us.

"Yes!" Percy exclaimed. "That's the best noise in the whole camp. It's munchin' time!"


	6. Chapter 6

Dinner time is crazy at Camp Half-Blood. Food was everywhere, and I mean everywhere; not just on the tables. There was even food and drinks flying through the air. I wasn't really sure what was moving the food, but it was definitely in the air with nobody carrying it. Kids of all ages were everywhere too. There were definitely a couple hundred people crowded into the dining pavilion. Everyone was all in high spirits and greeting each other. Christian had told me earlier when we were walking around that Annabeth had said since today is the last day of classes and the first day of summer, there are more kids at camp now than during other times throughout the year. So, everyone was excited to see each other again, and they eagerly chatted to one another about all the amazing things they were going to do at camp this summer.

Unfortunately, according to camp rules I couldn't sit with Annabeth, Percy, or Christian at just any table. Each table was designated to a god or goddess and the offspring of the god or goddess all sat at that one table. Annabeth, who I found out was a daughter of Athena, Percy, who was a son of Poseidon and sat at a table all alone except for a three-eyed teenage boy (Not sure how to explain that one), and Christian all sat at their tables. Me, not knowing who my godly parent was, had to sit at the Hermes table.

I sat towards the end of the table. The table was pretty much filled. Some of the kids who sat next to and across from me asked me a few questions, but I didn't really pay much attention to them or what they were saying. I would answer with a simple "yes" or "no", or I would just nod my head. Eventually, they just let me be, seeing as I didn't want to talk.

I was deep in thought. Who could my godly parent be? I thought about the things I knew about my parents, which wasn't much. I know my mom told me stories about Greek heroes all the time, so it would make sense that she was my godly parent. But my dad would tell me stories as well about Zeus and the other gods and goddesses. My Grandma, if she was in fact even my Grandma, would make Greek dishes all the time. She too would tell me bits and pieces of Greek history, and she claimed to be my Dad's mom. So, I have always considered my Dad's side of the family to be more Greek-like. I kept running these thoughts through my head trying to work it all out.

I then thought about how one of my parents must still be alive, since one of them is supposedly an immortal being. It made me excited and happy realizing that I hadn't really lost one of them. But then again, why haven't they claimed me yet? Why didn't they come visit me? Why did they pretend they were dead? It made me kind of upset just thinking about it. Sure, one of them was alive. I might be able to see one of them again. But at the same time, they have ignored me for the past 14 years. They haven't once come to visit or at least say, "Oh, yeah. By the way, I'm not dead. I'm an immortal who just doesn't want to see you." I mean, it sucks to hear or realize that someone you had trusted and loved, even if it was brief, turns out to be a total lie. The whole image you had in your head of them disappears. Now the image of my loving and caring parents, both of them, was ruined forever.

Before I could get my thoughts even more jumbled up, a plate of food appeared in front of me. It had the most amazing smelling food you could think of. I didn't know what some of it was, but I was starving. I hadn't eaten since lunch time at school, which felt like a million years ago. I was about to tuck in when the girl beside me tapped my shoulder. She was a couple years older than me and had dark black hair. She had a very mischievous look about her, but her intentions seemed kind enough.

"We have to go give an offering to the gods before we eat," she said. "Come on. Follow me and I'll show you."

I followed the girl towards the front of the hall where there was a long table that was raised slightly higher than the other's. Chiron, Apollo, and a couple of pudgy men (Were those goat legs? They look like the goat thingies in my dreams!) sat facing the rest of the mess hall. The girl walked around that table to the big furnace that was behind them. It looked like one of those fancy outdoor chimney fire places, just a lot bigger.

"So, all you have to do is say a little prayer, give thanks to the gods, and throw a bit of food in the furnace," she said. "Like this." The girl tipped her plate towards the furnace. She closed her eyes and said something under her breath. She then scooped some of her food off her plate and onto the flaming coals. The food quickly burned and disappeared.

"See? Just like that. And then when you're done you just head back to the table and start eating," she said standing up and smiling. She then turned and headed back towards the Hermes table.

I looked at the burning coals. I wasn't really sure if the gods listened to every camper's prayers. I mean, could they really hear us talking to them?

Whether they could or couldn't, I knew what I wanted to say. As much as I was upset with my parents for not telling me who they really were or not claiming me, they were still family, and family is very important to me. Family is my everything, even if they aren't flawless.

I bent my plate closer to the furnace and closed my eyes. "Hey, mom or dad, which ever one is the god or goddess. Look, I am upset with you for not telling me who I really am. But I just wanted to say that I still love you. I understand that you didn't have much time for me or whether or not you really cared about me because you are so busy doing, you know, godly things. I would like to know who you are though; just a simple "hey" would be nice. I miss you, or at least the person you were when I was little. Anyways, this is an offering to you." I pushed a little bit of food off my plate into the coals. The food quickly disappeared. I turned and started to walk back to my table just as more kids were coming up to give their offering. Once I was back at the Hermes table, I sat down and started chomping on my dinner.

After the dessert, which was very good by the way, had been passed out and everyone was finished eating, Chiron stood up. As he stood, the loud mess hall suddenly became dead silent. Even though the Hermes table was the last table in the mess hall and the furthest from the big table and furnace, I could see Chiron as plain as day in his stallion form. His white tail flicked behind him, and his white horse coat seemed to shine.

"Good evening all," he said smiling, the crinkles around his eyes coming out. "It is good to see everyone back and ready for their summer training. Before we get started with everyone's favorite game tonight, I have a few announcements to make."

All of a sudden, Chiron's face turned grave and very serious. He no longer had crinkles around his eyes.

"I am sure many of you have heard the rumors. Many newly found demigods have been dying off because of monster attacks from Chimera's. Our friends at the Council…," Chiron said gesturing to the pudgy goat-men, "…have been trying their best to send out more recruits to find these demigods before the Chimera's do. We don't know who is behind these attacks, but we are trying to get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, please be alert if you go outside the camp's boundaries."

Chiron then glanced to his left at Apollo who nodded at him. Apollo also had a very stern expression on his face.

Chiron continued on. "In addition, Apollo would like me to inform you all that the gods are asking all demigods to avoid the Labyrinth for the time being. At the moment, it is very unsafe; probably the most unsafe it has ever been before."

A couple of campers in the mess hall started whispering and mumbling to each other. I wasn't sure what labyrinth they were talking about. I hoped Chiron was talking about a corn maze labyrinth or something like that. Not _the_ Labyrinth I had read about in my Mythology class. Unfortunately, my intuition told me otherwise.

Chiron cleared his throat causing all talking to cease. The mess hall was quiet again.

"But now for some positive announcements," Chiron said. His crinkles returned around his eyes.

"We have gained two new campers today. Will the two of you please stand up."

I really didn't want to get up in front of the whole camp. Honestly, it wasn't that necessary for the whole camp to know who I was, let alone the fact that I'm one of the newbies. But, I didn't want to get on Chiron's bad side. I stood reluctantly. Since I was in the back-right corner, I could see Christian standing up at the Apollo table across the room from me.

Chiron gestured to Christian first. "Please welcome Christian, son of Apollo!"

Christian smiled his confident grin and waved to the whole mess hall. The Apollo cabin whooped and hollered while the rest of the campers clapped. I looked up towards the big table where Apollo sat. He too grinned and clapped slowly.

After a few seconds, the mess hall became silent. It was my turn to be introduced. I hope I don't make a fool of myself. I kept thinking in my head, _be confident, be confident, be confident; You can do this._

Chiron smiled again and looked right at me. "Please also welcome...," but that was all he could get in before the sky blasted open. Across the Long Island Sound, bolts of lightning crackled and lit up the sky. Thunder shook the whole camp. Everyone turned to look out over the sound, shocked by the sudden disturbance. Chiron and the others at the front table turned behind them to see what was going on. Some kids even stood up to look out over the sound. After about a good 5 seconds, the lightning and thunder stopped.

Chiron was the first person to turn around at the big table. He turned back to me ready to continue on with the introduction, but something stopped him. When he turned around and looked at me, his face slacked and he no longer smiled. His lips parted slightly and his eyes grew bigger. His white tail flicked. A look of shock appeared on his face.

Apollo and the pudgy men slowly turned back around ready to listen. As they turned around to face the mess hall, their eyes too landed on me. Looks of shock and disbelief appeared on their faces. Apollo slowly stood up, his eyes unwavering from me. I couldn't hear him, but it looked like he mouthed the words, "Impossible."

Most of the kids sat back down and faced the front ready to listen to Chiron as he continued on. As kids watched them, they too looked in the direction that the camp leaders were looking. Before I knew it, the whole camp was staring at me.

I felt like I wanted to bolt just like I had in the infirmary earlier. I wasn't sure what was going on. I swallowed hard and look down at the table to try and avoid eye contact with everyone. As I did so, I saw a glowing light reflecting off the table. I wasn't sure what it was.

I glanced sideways at the girl who sat beside me. She wore a shocked expression just like the rest of the camp. I then realized that she wasn't looking directly at me, but above my head.

I looked up to find a bright, glowing image above my head. The image was that of a peacock.

I tried wracking my brain of what god or goddess had a peacock symbol.

I looked back up at Chiron. He still wore a shocked expression on his face. After a beat or two, he seemed to regain his composure a little bit. He swallowed hard.

"Please welcome Cyan," his voice echoed. "Daughter of Hera."


	7. Chapter 7

I sat at the Hermes table in the mess hall. I was all alone. Everyone else had already left to go get ready for some camp-wide game that they play. After Chiron announced my name and who my godly parent was he proceeded to tell all the campers that they were dismissed to go get ready for the game. They all left in silence. For the most part, many of the campers gave me dirty looks as they left. No one was their kind and jolly self as they were before. The girl who had showed me how to perform an offering didn't even attempt to tell me what was going on. So, I stayed in my seat because I wasn't sure what to do next. I didn't know what game they were preparing for, or what the game even was.

I looked down at my hands. How could my mom be Hera, the Queen of the gods? I thought about all the stories I had heard about Hera. Of course, everyone was shocked to see who my parent was; Hera wasn't supposed to have demigod children! She valued family, marriage, and represented dedication and justice. She was a rule follower. I suppose that the lightning and thunder was Zeus feeling angry about the whole situation. I don't blame him. He must've just found out as soon as Hera decided to claim me.

So how, then, could she be my mom if she never dishonored her marriage with Zeus? Sure, Zeus dishonored their marriage quite often and had demigod children with other mortal women. Hera was known to be very vengeful if she found out about these affairs, and she would often times kill the poor woman. I just couldn't understand how the kind, loving woman who would snuggle up with me and read me stories when I was little was Hera.

I realized, suddenly, that I wasn't alone. Someone had sat down across the table from me. I looked up from my hands to see Apollo. He wore a half-hearted smile, an expression of pity towards my situation. I hate it when people show me pity.

I looked back down at my hands to try and avoid eye contact with him. I could hear him sigh. In my peripheral vision, I could see him turn his head to look out over the camp.

"Look," he began, "I'm not going to pretend I know what you are going through right now. Honestly, finding out who your mom is came as a shock to me too. In fact, I could _feel_ that it was a shock to all the gods. But I do know what it is like to find out about something that you didn't know existed."

I looked up at him. Apollo now looked at his hands, clearly a little embarrassed at what he was going to say to me.

"I had no idea that Christian was my son. To be honest, I don't even remember who his mom is. The past years have been very crazy for me. I'm not the same person I was before the Titan War, the War with Gaea, and the War with the Triumvirate. My essence used to be everywhere doing whatever it wanted."

I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about, but I was sure it probably had something to do with the responsibilities that came along with being a god.

He continued on. "But I could tell that he was a child of mine. There was a part of me in him. Point is, I know it sucks to find something out that you didn't think was a piece of your life. I get that. You just need to keep being you. And sometimes, you may even find that the newly added piece to your life is another joy waiting to be revealed."

In a strange way, he was right. Apollo realized that he had done something wrong, but in the end, he gains another son. Apollo is still himself even though he had a slip up. The fact that Hera is my mom doesn't change anything about me. I'm still the same girl I was before I got here. Sure, Hera shouldn't be my mom, but she is, and in a way, deep down I guess I was glad to know finally who my mom was.

Apollo looked up from his hands at me. I smiled at him. "Thanks," I said.

He smiled back at me. He tapped his right index finger on the top of his head. "Hey, I have all this godly wisdom. I've got to share it sometimes."

He then pushed himself up from his seat and walked over to my side. He stretched out his hand to help me up.

"C'mon," he said, "we need to go get ready for the game."

"What game is it exactly?" I said, reluctantly taking his hand. As much as I wasn't in the mood for a game, I couldn't just sit there in all my woes and pity myself.

"Only the greatest, most bloody game ever!" He said as he pulled me up. "Camp Half-Blood's very own Capture the Flag."

Apollo and I headed towards the woods where everyone else was setting up for Capture the Flag. I had played capture the flag before at school. I was always on the winning team. I tended to be the team leader and strategist, but occasionally I would take on the duty of capturing the flag myself. I was fast enough and could pick out the right moments of when to run and get the other team's flag. I also had enough endurance to run at a fast pace to bring the flag back to the other side. The way Apollo described _this_ capture the flag, though, was definitely different.

On the way to the woods we stopped at the armory. Apollo told me that I would need to suit up for this. In no time, I was moderately covered in your classic Greek armor. My arms and legs still showed. I just hoped that I wouldn't get cut in those areas. I also carried a sword with me. The sword was a bit heavy, at least heavier than I would've liked a sword to be. I felt as though the sword would slow me down, but Apollo insisted that I would need a weapon of some kind.

"What's your weapon then?" I asked him. I thought about the Apollo stories from my Mythology class and what his strengths were in war. "Your bow and arrow?"

"Ah, well the thing is since I am the god of archery, if I were to use a bow and arrow I would never miss even if I tried. The other team wouldn't stand a chance," he said. "So, I tend to stick with my war ukulele I got as a gift when I was a mortal. I use it mostly just to whack people with because if I sang with it I could easily make the other team do whatever I wanted. And that would also be very unfair."

I rolled my eyes. I definitely see where Christian got his cocky attitude from (Hint…It's not from his mom).

After we visited the armory, we headed over to where our team's starting headquarters was by the Long Island Sound beach. The other indication that this was not your standard gym class capture the flag was the fact that there actually was a headquarters. There was a huge tent just outside of the tree line to the woods. Apollo had told me on our way over that we were on the blue team. The red team started on the other side of the woods by the Pegasus stables.

There were many campers all decked out in their armor waiting outside of the tent. For me, it was basically the closest thing to an army I have ever seen in person. There was probably about 100 kids just in that area ready for battle. As Apollo and I walked up, some of the kids stopped what they were doing and just stared at me. I started to cower behind Apollo a little bit, slowing down my walking pace. I mean, I don't get scared or intimidated that easily, but having an army of Greek warriors ready to attack starring at you like you were the enemy wasn't exactly a welcoming site.

Apollo turned his head slightly to look at me. "C'mon," he said smiling back at me. He grabbed my hand and lead me into the headquarters tent.

I was grateful to be out of the sight of so many battle-hungry warriors. Inside the tent, there was a table with what appeared to be a map of the woods at camp. There were a bunch of red X's littered across one side of the map. Along the sides of the tent there was extra battle gear, two cots, and some medical supplies. Leaning over the map was Percy all geared up and ready for battle. He had one hand grabbing his chin, clearly concentrating on the map. To the right of him, Will and Nico were also looking at the map. Across the table from them was a boy I hadn't seen before. He had curly dark black hair. He seemed a little impish and nimble. His fingers were drumming the table with the map on it. He wore what looked like a tool belt around his waist.

As Apollo and I walked in, Percy looked up from the map. He just stared at me for a beat or two. He looked at me as though he was debating whether to trust me. He then seemed to decide to go against what everyone else had done and smiled back at.

"Hey Cyan," he said. "Glad you could join us."

Will, Nico, and the impish boy looked up from the map. They all wore that same blank expression everyone else seems to wear when I walk anywhere near them.

Will then broke the silence. He stood strait up with his hands on his hips and leaned to one side. He stood like a teacher who was about to lecture me. His face had a stern expression. "Now Cyan, I don't appreciate what you did at the infirmary. I told you to stay put! And you should never disobey a doctor's orders!" I could see the corner of Will's mouth start to rise as he was clearly trying not to smile. I saw Nico smirk beside him.

"Yes, I know. But I didn't see a doctor there. Last time I checked doctors don't appear as teenage boys with flip-flops," I countered.

Will frowned. Nico and the impish boy laughed.

"Told you you don't look like a doctor," Nico said smirking with his arms across his chest.

"Ha, I like this girl," the impish boy said looking at Percy and pointing at me.

The boy then turned to me. "I'm Leo. But you can call me Hot Stuff if you'd like."

"Excuse me," Apollo said rolling his eyes, "but I am the _real_ sun god here."

Apollo then looked at Percy. "I don't know if you have already given me a partner or job, but I'd like to partner up with Cyan. Me and her can be one of the flank groups that searches for the flag."

Percy nodded. "That sounds good. I just have no idea where Annabeth would've hidden the flag this time."

"Oh, it's fine," Leo said, "we'll just do what we always do."

"And that's what?" I asked.

"Wing it."

I don't know how I felt about being on a team that just "winged" it, but that is exactly what we did. After Percy and the others went around from group to group explaining what their duties were and making it up as they went, the groups would then split off and head into the woods. Apollo and I went towards the outskirts of the woods closest to the beach. Once we reached there, a big conch horn sounded off.

"And let the Hunger Games begin!" Apollo said laughing.

I laughed too. "That wasn't funny," I said. "To me, I feel like this actually _is_ the Hunger Games."

"I'm kidding. It's not really like the Hunger Games. More than one person tends to survive…at least most of the time that is." He glanced sideways at me as we walked along.

"You better be kidding," I said.

We continued along the outskirts of the woods for a little while. We hadn't encountered the flag or anyone on the opposing team. We stopped for a moment to scope the woods and see if we saw anything. We were all alone. In the distance, I could hear yelling and the clashing of metal, but nothing close by seemed to be a threat. I decided to ask Apollo a burning question that I had had for awhile now.

"Why does everyone here seem to hate my mom?" I asked.

"Hmmm," he said. He continued to look out over the woods. "What do you mean?"

It seemed as though he didn't want to answer the question.

"Well, I know my mom isn't supposed to have kids with anyone other than Zeus, but it just seems like everyone at camp hates me on a personal level when I've only just arrived. And it didn't happen before I was claimed. So, it's almost like everyone hates me because of my mom."

"Ah, you're very smart," he replied. "Are you sure Athena isn't your mom?"

I looked at him and frowned.

"Sorry," he said. He finally turned to me. "You're right. Many of the campers dislike Hera because of what she did a few years back. Long story short, she took Percy from Camp Half-Blood and a handsome young fellow named Jason from the Roman Camp against their wills. She then erased their memories about their lives and put them in the other's camp. She did this in an effort to join the two camps. Obviously, many people love Percy. So, the fact that she took him away was terrible. Of course, Annabeth hates Hera's guts because of what she did to her boyfriend and all the horrors they had to go through. Annabeth and Percy have a huge following here at camp and so everyone else seems to hold their opinions and grudges on the same people. Also, Hera doesn't have a good history with demigods anyways."

I looked down at my shoes. I never thought that my mother, who I had always idealized in my head, was hated by so many people. I could feel Apollo staring at me now. I looked up at him. His jaw was clenched, almost as if he wanted to tell me something but he was trying not to. Whatever he was going to tell me, he never got to it. I saw his eyes grow big and he yelled, "Cy, duck!"

I hit the ground hard. I'm glad he wasn't talking about a duck as in a bird, otherwise I would've looked ridiculous falling to the ground for no apparent reason. As I dropped to the ground I felt the wind of something swinging over my head. All I could see at the moment was Apollo's feet and the forest floor. Apollo's feet then sprang over me. I crawled to the tree trunk in front of me to help pull myself up. As I spun around I unsheathed my sword.

In front of me Apollo was smacking two other campers with his golden ukulele. You would've thought that a boy with a ukulele against two kids with swords would've been defeated easily, but Apollo held his own. I felt stupid just standing there, but I didn't know what else to do.

Apollo then yelled to me. "Cy! Follow this line of trees and go get the flag! It's that way; about 400 yards!"

"Hey!" one of the campers fighting Apollo said. "You can't use your godly vision! That's cheating!"

"Um excuse me, Luis?! Don't give me a lecture on cheating when you clearly cheated on your girlfriend!" Apollo replied.

The second camper fighting Apollo gasped. "Luis, what?! You cheated on my sister!"

Luis looked a bit unsettled. "Uh, no! He doesn't know what he's talking about!"

Apollo now yelled at me again. "Cy, go!"

I turned and ran in the direction the god told me to go.

Sure enough, exactly 400 yards away from where Apollo was, the straight line of trees ended. I could see the red flag raised on a stick about 5 feet in the air. I crouched behind the closest tree. I looked all around me to make sure the cost was clear. There was no one behind me, to my left, or to my right. If anyone else was here they would be behind another tree facing the flag. I found that this was highly likely. Who would be stupid enough to leave the flag unprotected. I decided to pull a run, grab, and go. I knew that the stream that cut through the forest was the boundary line between the two sides, and that was a good half a mile away. I could easily make it there at a fast sprint. I tend to run at a fast pace anyways when there is a half a mile left in my cross country meets; this would be a piece of cake. I would just have to doge any crazy maniacs trying to stop me with sharp swords. I looked at the flag one last time and checked the area surrounding it to make sure no one was nearby.

I then jumped out from behind the tree and sprinted to the post. I yanked the flag down. It came free surprisingly easily. I then sprinted to my left and towards the general area of the stream.

I heard a female voice behind me yell, "Damn it! Come on!"

I ran hard. After about 50 yards, I could see pockets of groups in battle. I could hear the clashing of swords on metal and the laughter of triumph, or the screams of pain. I kept on running. When I had a little clearing without any trees in front of me, I glanced behind me. I could see a girl with blonde hair chasing after me along with two other campers. It was hard to focus on them, but I think the blonde-haired pursuer was Annabeth.

She was yelling, "She's got the flag!"

I could see a couple of the campers in my side vision turning towards me and then abandoned their individual battles to come pursue me too. At this point, I guessed that I was about 400 more yards away from the boundary line. I sprinted harder. My lungs filled with cool air. My legs were burning. Adrenaline coursed through my veins. There was no way they were going to catch me now; I loved this feeling more than anything else.

After another minute, I was about 20 yards away from the stream. I was debating whether or not to run through it or jump over it. The stream was about 10 feet wide. I didn't think I could jump all the way across. The stream was no more than knee deep though, so I decided that I would still be able to run through it and make it to the other side without being caught.

I hit the cold water and ran the last few yards, being sure to keep my legs up and pushing off the ground hard to get more power. I was so close. Hopefully, the fact that I won the game of capture the flag would make some of the campers reconsider their thoughts of me and start to accept me as one of their own.

Of course, though, there had to be a boulder in the stream. Just as I was about to make it to the other side, my right foot landed on a boulder. As I pushed off, the boulder slipped out from underneath me and caused me to lose my footing. I fell down in the water. Knowing that I was just off the shore, I quickly reached out my right hand with the flag in it. As my hand landed down, I felt the dirt underneath it. I picked up my head from the water to look and make sure that the flag was on the other side. Sure enough, it was. I had won the game! Thank goodness too, or that fall at the end would've made my social situation here at camp even worse.

I pulled myself out of the water smiling. I could see people on my side popping out from behind trees and jogging over to me. I turned around to see just how close my pursuers had been.

Just as I began to turn around, a sword smacked me in the gut. I hobbled back taken by surprise. I got the wind knocked out of me and I could barely breathe. I looked up to see who had hit me. I just saw the blonde hair before the sword came back down on me and cut my right arm. I staggered back again.

"Wha-," was all I could get out when the next blow came. The sword slashed across my left thigh. I bent towards the wound as the pain was excruciating.

"How. Could. You!" Annabeth screamed between slashing at me.

I stepped to the right and managed to dodge a slice to my right leg. She kept swinging her sword blindly. Out of the corners of my eyes I could see other campers just standing around us.

"Now you feel the pain I felt!" Annabeth screamed again as she swung her sword.

I tried to doge again, but the tip of her sword slashed across my cheek. As I tried to back up, Annabeth was faster and stuck out her foot behind my leg. I fell to the ground. I felt pain all over my body. My head now hurt as I didn't brace my fall. I could taste blood in my mouth. I couldn't stand let alone roll out the way. I looked up to see Annabeth getting ready to give me another blow to the head. I would probably pass out.

Just before the flat of her sword was about to connect with my head, someone football tackled her. Annabeth and the person went flying to the side.

I turned to my right side and spit blood out of my mouth, and looked to see who had stopped Annabeth.

Christian was getting up off the ground as I looked over. Annabeth quickly got up ready to fight. Christian now stood in between us.

"Leave her alone," he said in a deep and serious voice, which was something I hadn't thought Christian was capable of. "She was across the line. The game is over."

Annabeth and Christian had a stare down for a few seconds. All of a sudden, a conch horn sounded off in the distance. That must've been the confirmation that the game was over.

Annabeth then huffed, threw down her sword, and trudged off in the other direction. The crowd surrounding us quickly dispersed out of the way and starred to dissipate.

Off to my right I heard Percy yell, "Annabeth! Wait!"

I saw him run after her. I then remembered what Apollo had said. No one hated my mom more than Annabeth.

I slowly tried to get up. I didn't want to appear as some weak new girl, but it was extra hard to get up using my right arm as the gash had made it weak. Blood soaked my shirt sleeve.

Christian turned around and helped lift me up. I draped my right arm on top of his shoulders and stood on my right leg, putting most of my weight on him.

"You okay?" he asked.

I looked up at him and smiled. "Never better," I heaved out.

He smiled back at me, but he definitely had a concerned look on his face.

"C'mon. Let's get you back to the infirmary."


	8. Chapter 8

I sat on a cot, just like I had earlier that day, in the infirmary. Will was running around and getting supplies to help patch me up and stop the bleeding. After Christian helped me to the infirmary he insisted on staying. Will assured him, though, that I was in good hands, and Christian was then guided out by one of his other Apollo siblings. I kind of wished he would've stayed, though. He's one of the few people who still sees me just as my normal self.

Once Will had all of the supplies, he walked back over to my cot. He had that stick of golden butter-looking stuff in his hand again. He broke off a piece and handed it to me.

He nodded and said, "Here. Eat this. It's called ambrosia. It'll make all the aches and pains go away."

"Like Advil?" I asked.

Will smiled, "More or less."

I put the stuff in my mouth, and boy was it the best stuff I had ever tasted. It was warm and sweet. My whole body tingled from its goodness. I wanted some more, but I didn't want to seem greedy or anything.

I looked at Will and smiled back at him. "Thanks."

Will nodded. His smile then disappeared into a frown. "Look, I don't know what happened to Annabeth back there. She's really the coolest person you will ever meet. She would never hurt another person unless they were a threat to her friends or family."

I nodded. "Yeah. I get it I guess. Apollo had said she'd been through a lot and it's all my mom's fault."

"I don't think you realize exactly _what_ she's been through," Will said. "Percy and her literally went through Tartarus together."

I remembered my readings from the Mythology class I took. We briefly touched on Tartarus. I know that it is where all of the monsters live or become reborn. I know that no human life can live down there. Honestly, I couldn't believe that it was true. Then, again, I have been proven wrong by many things today, and I know that Will wasn't lying. With the experience of facing two of the three-headed monsters this morning, I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to be surrounded by thousands, maybe even millions, of monsters let alone in a place that was inhabitable to humans. The fact that my mom had a piece in causing those horrors to become real for Annabeth and Percy, I can't honestly blame her for tearing my apart. I'm sure she must have major nightmares and problems with things that take her mind back to Tartarus, just like war veterans have PTSD.

I thought about what Will said, that Annabeth wouldn't hurt anyone unless they were a threat to anyone she cared about, and I'm the same way. If I saw the daughter of someone who had cause near death experiences and pain to anyone close to me, I wouldn't trust them. Heck, I'd think they were conspiring with the person who caused all of the problems.

I looked up at Will and nodded. "I get it. Really, I do."

Will was about to say something when someone burst through the infirmary's entrance. Apollo strode over and stood next to my cot.

"I got this Will. Why don't you head back to the cabin. It's almost time for lights out," Apollo said.

Will nodded and put down all the supplies he was holding on the table next to the cot. As he left, he waved at us and said, "Goodnight."

Apollo now turned to me. "You kinda have a lot of cuts and bruises, but you survived your first game of Capture the Flag."

I laughed and smiled. "Yeah, I guess so. Thanks for whacking those two boys with your ukulele and allowing me to go get the flag."

"My pleasure," he replied as he bowed like a butler.

He was very quirky in a way. He seemed to lighten the mood whenever he walked in to a room. Then again, I had to remind myself that he was, in fact, the sun god himself.

Apollo now stood up and took my hand.

I looked down at where he held my hand. "Ummm…what are you doing?" I said.

"I'm not making a move if that's what you're thinking," he replied smirking. "Watch this."

All of a sudden, I felt a tingle course through my veins and all throughout my body. It was a warm sensation similar to the one I felt when I ate the ambrosia, but stronger. I looked down at my right arm where the gash was. To my surprise, it was no longer there. It was as if it hadn't even existed. Even my previous scars and scrapes from years of running and having unexpected falls disappeared.

Apollo removed his hand. I looked up at him in disbelief, which was stupid because of coarse he can do stuff like that. He's a god. It was just hard to remember when a cute, normal looking teenage boy was standing in front of me.

He lifted up his hands and wiggled his fingers. "Medicine god magic."

I laughed. "Thanks…again."

"Anything for you," he said as he winked.

I hoped that this was also considered "not making a move".

"Alright, let's go. I have to show you to your new cabin," Apollo said as he grabbed my hand and hoisted me out of the cot.

After walking across the camp to where all the cabins are, Apollo and I now stood in front of two cabins that were in the center. According to Apollo, the cabins were originally set up like the god's throne room. So, naturally the King and Queen of the god's cabins would be in the center with all the others creating a semicircle around them. There were more cabins outside of the semicircle, but it was still easy to tell what the original cabins were. The two cabins in front of us looked dark and foreboding. Zeus's cabin was to my right, and Hera's cabin was to my left. The only difference between the two cabins was that the Zeus cabin at least had a little light towards the back.

Apollo saw that I was looking at it. "The Zeus cabin is currently occupied by Jason Grace. He is away at the moment."

I nodded and looked towards the Hera cabin, my cabin. It looked very old, and it seemed as though no one had been near it for years, maybe even centuries. It had a similar style front like the Parthenon, with two big stone columns lining the door frame. On top, was a giant stone peacock.

"Apollo, why is there even a Hera cabin if, you know, she's not supposed to have children?"

"It was built to be like a temple to Hera. They didn't want her to get mad for not including her, so they built one in her honor. Guess it's a good thing they did because now it's going to be used."

I looked down at my shoes, something I tend to do when I'm ashamed or feel bad because everything seems to be my fault.

Apollo looked over at me. I could sense that he probably had that same pitying look he had at the mess hall earlier that day. He then looked back at the cabin and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the lanterns, which I hadn't seen before, blazed to life at the front of the Hera cabin. The cabin now looked a bit more homey and inviting.

Apollo smirked like he does when he knows what he just did was awesome. "There. Now it's a fully furnished cabin. No cobwebs, dust, or anything like that."

"You didn't have to do that," I said. Like I said, I don't like it when people pity me, and this was definitely a pitying gesture. Either way, I was grateful that there now wasn't any cobwebs in the place.

"But thanks anyway, yet again," I said. Boy, I have thanked Apollo a ton today.

"It's no problem," he said waving me away. "It is the least I can do since you gave me another son today." He paused for a second and gritted his teeth. "Um, wait, not as in you birthed him for me… but like…oh, wow, that came out weird."

I laughed. "I know what you meant."

I then looked back at the front door to the Hera cabin and started walking in that direction. When I got to the front door I looked back in Apollo's direction, but he was already gone.

I turned back towards the front door. I put my hand on the door knob. I took a deep breath, twisted the handle, and opened the door to my mom's house.


	9. Chapter 9

After entering the cabin, I was taken by surprise. The ceiling was about 20 feet high, and the whole room was lit by a spectacular golden chandelier that hung above the entrance way. To my left, a stone mural lined the wall with different carvings of men and women in Greek armor battling. The mural of the battles varied; some were in chariots holding spears, others were on foot fighting with swords and shields, and some were launching arrows on to their enemies. You know, just your standard everyday bedroom poster.

To my right, the wall was lined with another stone mural which seemed like it had carvings of family gatherings and events. There was one section of the mural that displayed a picture of a father, mother, and their child; the family sat under a big oak tree eating a different variety of foods. They looked to be having a picnic.

About 20 feet in front of me where the mural walls stopped and the room opened up, a huge statue stood. The statue was nearly as tall as the ceiling and was facing the entrance way.

I saw her beautiful, but strong face. Her hair was the way she always wore it when I was younger, braided in a straight braid down her back. She wore a crown and a classic Greek dress with sandals. She held a staff with what appeared to be some type of flower on the end. A peacock sat on her shoulder. Now, more than ever, I truly believed that the woman I remembered as a child was a goddess. It felt weird, though. Having a giant statue of your mom in your cabin isn't exactly what every teenager wants in their room.

I walked past the statue to where the room opened up. I'm not sure what was here before, but Apollo definitely outdid himself when he snapped his fingers. The room looked basically like a newly furnished apartment. To my left against the wall, a queen size bed sat with all of my pillows, sheets, and covers from home. Next to the right side of the bed, my nightstand along with my digital clock and lamp sat. Even my dressers, drawers, and closet were here. I walked over to the closest dresser and opened the top drawer. Sure enough, even my clothes were in them. I closed the drawer and turned around towards the other side of the room.

Across from by bedroom side of the large room was a large couch in the shape of an L facing a flat screen TV. There was a rug and a coffee table between the couch and the TV, and the TV set was furnished with an Xbox and Apple TV.

Next to the living room was a kitchen. Between the kitchen and the living room, though, a dining table sat. The kitchen had brand new appliances which included a fridge, an oven, a microwave, and a stove. The refrigerator was even touch screen. Granite counter tops lined all the wood cabinets, and a granite counter top island sat in the middle with sink on one side.

The whole thing was unbelievable. I was pretty sure the other campers didn't get this sort of stuff. I can't believe Apollo did this for me. I would've been just grateful for a bed, but this was over the top. I would really need to thank him again for all this.

I walked back over to my bed and flopped face down on it. The sheets on the bed even smelled like my Grandma's home. I rolled over onto my back and starred at the ceiling. What a crazy day. This morning I had thought it was going to be just like any other day and once it was over summer would begin. I was definitely wrong about that. I thought about how worried my Grandma must be. I should really try and call her as soon as possible when I get a chance. I'm not sure what happened to my phone. I probably lost it somewhere from all the craziness today. But what would I tell her when I called? _Oh hey Grandma. I'm fine. By the way, did you know my mom is still alive and she is a goddess?_ Like that was going to work. I don't even know if she'd believe me.

I then thought about my dad. What had really happened to him? Did he really die from a car accident? I then had a terrible thought pop into my head. If my mom was a goddess, why didn't she save him? Why did she just let him die and leave me all alone?

With that thought on my mind, I sat straight up gritting my teeth. I then saw movement to the right in the corner of my eye. I jolted up onto my feet and stood ready to run or fight. I guess that's a habit I have now.

Standing off to the side, was a smaller human size version of the Hera statue in my room, minus the peacock on the shoulder and the stone. She seemed to radiate golden light. The white robes were beautiful, and she had gold bangles and necklaces on her wrists, feet, and neck. Her crown was also gold. My mom smiled softly and tilted her head a bit.

"Hello, my sweet. It has been a long time."

I stood starring at her in awe. I had an itching sensation to just run up to her and wrap myself in her arms like I did when I was little. But when she said those words, she snapped me back to reality. She was not the mom I once knew.

I crossed my arms and starred at her. My jaw started to clench.

"How could you," I said, using all my will power not to yell.

Hera's smile faded, but she kept a firm eye on me. She began tapping her right foot slightly. "Look I don't…," she began, but I cut her off.

"You were alive all this time, and you made me believe I was all alone. Why didn't you claim me? I could have been here earlier and I would've known about my family earlier."

Hera tried to speak again, but I kept going. All the anger and pain of all those years of believing that my parents were gone started to well up inside of me. I started to raise my voice.

"Where were you all those nights that I was crying in my room, wanting and wishing that I could spend just one more day with my parents? Or all the times that I was made fun of for having a Grandma as my parent?"

Hera's face began to look angry. Her jaw clenched. "How dare you talk to the Queen of the Gods that way!"

I could care less about all the stories I had heard about Hera smiting anyone who crossed her. My anger completely took over.

"How dare me?! How dare you! Where were you when my father died?! Why did you let him die?!" I screamed.

Those words seem to hit Hera in the gut. Her anger of being disrespected seemed to go away. Her face was red and I could see her eyes watering a bit. She knew I was right, but, if she was anything like me, she hated to be proven wrong. She kept her stern stare. But I didn't care. I kept going.

"Where were you at his funeral?! Did you even go to his funeral?! Did you even love him?! Did you even love me?!"

"STOP!" Hera screamed.

Almost as if she put a spell on me, my mouth closed shut. I knew I could still speak, but the power in her command was overwhelming. I stood staring at her, catching my breath from all my yelling. My anger was still there, but it started to subside a bit more.

Hera sighed and looked down at the floor, trying to avoid my eye contact. "I can't be here for very long. Zeus is quite angry at the moment…"

"Shocker," I said.

She glanced up at me. She looked like she really wanted to blast me into a pile of dust, but she clenched her jaw and continued on.

"Look, I know you are mad and I am new to this whole parenting thing. But everything I told you when you were younger, and everything I said in your dream, I meant every word of it. I do love you, my child, and I…I did love your father. The whole thing is…complicated."

"Well you could start by making it uncomplicated by explaining a few things to me," I said.

"There's not enough time," Hera replied. As if on cue, I could hear a rumble of thunder off in the distance.

Hera seemed to hear it as well. She looked at me and smiled a bit.

"But I do have a gift for you, my dear."

"Do you really think a gift will fix all of this?" I said raising my eyebrows.

Hera looked at me with a confused expression. "I never give gifts. You should be grateful."

I rolled my eyes. "Well normally parents give gifts to their children on…hmmm…I don't know, their birthdays for example," I said sarcastically.

Hera sighed again. "Like I said, I'm new to this whole parent thing."

Hera then snapped her fingers, and just like that, two glinting objects were sitting on the ground in front of my feet. They were gold bracelets that you often see Greek warriors wear on their forearms. They were silver and gold and were the perfect length to fit in between my elbow and hand. I picked one of them up. They were the perfect weight. Not too heavy to prevent movement, but strong enough to protect myself with. The one I had picked up had a small sword ingrained at the base nearest to my hand. I looked down at the other bracelet. On the other end of that bracelet, a small circle with a star in the middle was inscribed. I'm not really a jewelry type of girl, but these bracelets were beautifully crafted.

I looked up at Hera. She had a soft smile on her face. She nodded at the bracelets. "Go ahead. Try them on."

I wanted to be mad at my Mom and refuse the gift, but I couldn't help it. Something about these bracelets reeled me in, almost as if the bracelets wanted me to try them on. I first put the bracelet with the sword on it on my right forearm. I tied the soft leather buckles tight around my wrist, middle forearm, and beneath my elbow. I then tied the bracelet that had the circle on it on my left forearm. Both fit perfectly. I felt like I could defeat whole armies when I wore them.

"These are called the Bracelets of Submission," Hera said.

For a second, I thought I'd heard her wrong. "The Bracelets of Submission? You mean…like as in Wonder Woman's bracelets?"

Hera chuckled. "Darling, someone made up Wonder Women based off of a wonderful Greek warrior. She didn't actually have all the powers that you hear about. The truth is stretched slightly. But yes, they are the bracelets that are portrayed in the comics. They are forged from Zeus's Aegis shield."

I looked back down at the bracelets on my arms that I now wore. I was wearing a piece of Zeus's shield. How was this even possible?

I looked back up at Hera. "Go on," she said, "Command them."

I scrunched up my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I think you know," she replied.

I honestly didn't. This woman was crazy. Like command them to do what? They're bracelets. It's not like I can talk to them.

All of a sudden though, the bracelets began to get warm. It felt like they were vibrating ever so slightly. They didn't talk to me, but at the same time it felt like they were telling me something. I stretched out my arms so they were outstretched below my shoulders. I clenched my fists.

Then the weirdest thing happened. My right clenched fist was suddenly filled with cool piece of metal in the palm of my hand. My left arm suddenly felt like it had a little more weight added to the outside of it. I brought my arms back towards my side and looked to my right hand.

Glinting in my hand was a beautiful sword. The sword had a golden hilt, and the blade was silver. It was the perfect length and weight unlike the sword I held in the game of Capture the Flag. I looked at my left arm. On the outside of my arm connect to my bracelet was a matching shield. It too was a perfect weight and size. The outside of the shield was golden. Then inside of the shield was silver besides the gold that outlined the star in the middle.

I looked back up at Hera again. I had no words. I'm not going to lie, this was probably the coolest gift I had ever received. Hera smiled.

"The sword and shield were forged by Hephaestus himself. They are now yours."

I looked back down at the sword and shield. I clenched my fists again, and just like that, they disappeared. The bracelets remained on my arms with the sword and shield pictures inscribed on them just like before.

"I…I don't know what to say," was all I could manage.

"I know I haven't been a good parent, and I know that you have many questions, but I wanted to give you these. Only a strong warrior can wield and use this weapon, and I'm afraid you will need them in the near future." Hera now looked at her feet again. "I do love you, and I am sorry I have put this burden on you. But the attacks that are occurring on the unknown demigods are…well they are our family's fault."

I now clenched my jaw again. "What do you mean?"

"The attacks on the demigods are occurring because of us, and you are the only one who can stop them. You must stop them, or the demigod race will die off. The Greek gods and life as we know it will cease to exist. You need to save all of those children, Cyan."

I felt like my lungs just collapsed to the size of a peanut. Why did this fate have to be put on me, the new kid? How was I supposed to save these people?

"Ummm…If you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly a warrior much less a savior to anyone. I literally just got beaten up during a game of Capture the Flag. How am I supposed to help all these people?"

"You chose not to fight back at Capture the Flag; which, by the way, don't let that Annabeth Chase harm you again. It took all my will power not to blast her to bits," Hera said.

I didn't think that was fair, especially of what my Mom did to Annabeth in the first place but I didn't feel like getting into another argument. She continued.

"You are very powerful, Cyan. More so that you know and realize."

I looked at her hard. "Who is my father?"

Hera's expression wavered and she swallowed hard. Thunder suddenly sounded off in the distance again.

Hera regained her composure, but spoke anxiously. "I really must go now, my sweet. Just remember, I do love you. Know that the family bond and love is the strongest power of them all." She began to fade away. "You must put an end to the evil that aims to kill our existence."

"But who is my father?!" I yelled at her.

Before she could respond, she was gone. Just as quickly as I regained a parent I have longed for so long, my mom was lost out of my life once again.


	10. Chapter 10

I laid on my back in my bed staring at the ceiling for hours. I couldn't fall asleep. All of the day's events swirled through my brain, especially my conversation with my Mom.

Of course something like this would happen to me. I was born into a family that had complications. But the fact that children were dying because of my family, now that was hard to take in. About 24 hours ago I had thought that my family, even though we were separated, was perfect and loving. Now, the weight of the deaths of other children and teens were on my shoulders and it was because of my family. I mean sure, why should I care? I didn't know these people. Heck, if they got to camp and found out who I was they would probably treat me just as bad as everyone else. I had to face the fact. I'm an outcast here at camp. No matter what I do I will never truly belong here because I shouldn't even exist.

I turned over on my side, trying to leave my problems behind me. But no matter which way I twisted or turned, the burden of lives rested on my shoulders. I remembered the attack on me and Christian at school. By some miracle, we had survived the attack from the Chimeras. I couldn't imagine how a young child could possibly survive a vicious attack from just one of those creatures, demigod or not. No child deserves that fate. Just by that thought process alone, I then made my decision. I didn't know where to start or even what I was going to do to stop these attacks. All I knew is that someone _had_ to stop innocent deaths, and I was going to do my part to help out.

I looked at the alarm clock on my nightstand. The green LED lights read 6:00 AM. I flung back the covers and hopped out of bed. I put on a pair of Nike shorts, a t-shirt, and Nike crew socks. I slipped on my Nike tennis shoes. I looked around the room. There had to be a backpack somewhere to put supplies in. I walked over to one of the doors next to the kitchen and opened it. Sure enough, along with a closet stocked with food and supplies, a backpack sat at the bottom. I pulled the backpack out and checked to see if anything was in it. Inside, there were medical supplies, a rope, sunscreen, and a container of those golden butter thingies. Strapped on the side was a water bottle. In one of the front pockets there was a wallet. On the left side of the wallet, there was a credit card and $100 cash. On the other side, there were gold coins that looked like coins I had seen in my Greek Mythology class. I assumed they were drachmas. At least I didn't have to worry about money now. I stocked the rest of the backpack with snacks and food I could eat. Who knew when the next time I would eat a full meal would be.

I then shouldered my backpack and walked towards the front door. I put my hand on the door handle and turned around to take one last look at the room. I had just got here, and now I was about to leave this cool place. But I knew I had to do the right thing. And whether children were dying because of my family's mistakes or not, helping them was the right thing to do. Sometimes the right thing isn't always the easiest to do. I didn't know what I was getting into, but I had to try and fix what was wrong. I sighed and turned back towards the door. I swung the front door open, ready to take one whatever obstacles were in front of me.

Standing directly in front of me with is arm raised and hand in a fist ready to knock was Apollo. "Oh. Good morning," he said smiling. "Where are you off to?"


	11. Chapter 11

Author's note: Hey guys! Sorry to keep you all waiting for the next chapters. I have been very busy with school. I will most likely always post new chapters during the holiday breaks since this is when I have the most time to write. I will try to post multiple new chapters weekly. Anyhow, I am sure you all are dying to see what happens next. Thanks for reading, and be sure to like, comment, and follow this story! Happy reading!

"Nope you can't go," Apollo said, shaking his head back and forth.

"How did you even know I was going anywhere?" I stood in the front door frame of my cabin. I couldn't even shut the door because Apollo was in the way.

Apollo tapped his head. "Duh, I am a god. I know everything without you even saying a word."

I rolled my eyes. This guy is impossible.

"Plus," he continued, "you clearly look like you're going somewhere with a back pack stuffed full. And I've been around long enough to know what a questing-demigod looks like. But no, you can't go."

"I wasn't asking for your permission." I shouldered myself around Apollo, pulling the door shut behind me, and trudged down the steps. I looked out over the burning hearth in the middle of all the cabins and saw the sun rising over the tree line. I heard Apollo scamper down the steps after me and to my side.

"That is very true. But you can't go. You're untrained and inexperienced. You don't even know where you are going or what you will face."

I kept walking. I figured I would head towards the infirmary. I'm assuming the exit is where I saw the dragon, since dragons normally guard the entrance and exit to places. That was just a guess though. If I was wrong I would figure something else out. All I knew is I had to go somewhere for answers.

"Look," I said, "I know it's dangerous. But my mom came to me last night. Kids are dying because of something that my family has done. My dad isn't exactly around to fix it, and my mom is useless at the moment, so someone has to do something. And I guess I'm the only one who can fix it." I kept on walking

Suddenly, Apollo jumped in front of me. "Okay, okay. You are stubborn and aren't going to listen to me. But you really need to go get read a prophecy if you are going to go on a quest."

"A prophecy? Like a crazy delusional telling of the future?"

"I prefer the term complex future insight. It is not crazy, so don't go hating on it," Apollo said frowning.

"Oh yeah. You're the god of prophecy. My bad." I hadn't meant to offend Apollo, but I really needed to get him off my back. I wanted to leave camp before anyone else woke up. If I could leave avoiding any death-threatening stares that'd be nice.

"Alright," I continued. "Give me the prophecy. Lemme here it."

Apollo crossed his arms across his chest, clearly not amused. "That's not how it works."

"C'mon. I need to go. Can we just make it fast however you do it."

Apollo rolled his eyes. "Very impatient aren't we?" He then snapped his fingers and I felt my gut pull. In a literal blink of an eye, the scene around me changed. I was no longer standing in the middle of all the cabins. I now stood in the middle of the woods. In front of me were two large oak trees forming and archway.

I looked over at Apollo who stood beside me. "Where are we now?"

"You said you wanted a prophecy, and here is how you get."

I looked back at the oak archway. "Um, from a talking tree?" I asked sarcastically.

"Precisely!"

"Um, I was kidding."

"Well, I'm not," Apollo said. He pointed towards the archway. "You just walk through there into the Grove of Dodona. Go to the giant tree in the middle with the wind chimes on it and ask a question. Preferably something about you quest, not like, you know, about what the winning lottery numbers are or something like that."

Apollo kept his eyes unwavering from the archway. I shook my head and took my back pack off of my shoulder and placed it on the ground. I can't believe I am going to do this. In the past 24 hours, I have seen some ridiculous things, but this is by far the weirdest. A talking tree? You've got to be kidding me. But I went along with it anyway.

I trudged on forward and walked under the big oak trees. The grove looked peaceful. I kept walking straight. After about 50 yards into the grove, I finally came across a big tree. And boy was it big. It looked very old and ancient. The tree's trunk was larger than any of the others, and the branches extended high into the sky. Sure enough, there was a wind chime on one of the branches just like Apollo had said.

I looked up at the tree. "Um…hello there," was all I could manage to say.

What was I supposed to ask? I mean, I've never really spoken to a tree before. I could easily ask it who my father is, and it may give me the answer. But, deep down, I knew that that wasn't the right question to ask. I needed to find out how to save those kids from being attacked.

"Uh I was wondering, could you tell me how to stop the attacks from the Chimeras and save the other demi-god children?"

I waited for the tree to respond with some kind of extravagant event. Maybe the wind would pick up and blow everywhere. Maybe the ground would shake as a new revelation would occur. Maybe mist would appear out of no where and answer my question. I waited for a minute or two, but of coarse nothing happened.

"Figures," I said under my breath and turned around to walk back out the grove.

Suddenly, though, a buzz filled the air, and a woman's voice spoke.

 _Ohhhh, you'th are an interesting one._

I quickly spun around and looked up at the tree. "Uhh huh, did you talk? To me?" I said pointing a finger at myself.

 _Undeniably. Lend your ear and receive what has to be said._

I nodded as I was at a lost for words, a thing that has become a part of my life now apparently. The tree spoke again.

 _The child of a peacock must journey to find_

 _A lineage that was once declined._

 _Seven old foes that defeated the earth_

 _Will aid in finding her worth._

 _A father and son of the sun shall follow_

 _Into horrors in which they cannot swallow._

 _All journeying foes shall peacefully survive_

 _Except the child who shouldn't be alive._

On the last word, everything went silent. I stood stalk still, hoping that the tree wouldn't end on that last line. I was hoping that the tree would be like, "Hey! LOL just kidding! Here's your real prophecy!" But that didn't happen. I wish that wasn't my prophecy. I mean, maybe it gave me the wrong one? I shook my head. No, it was definitely mine. I was the child who shouldn't be alive. My mom wasn't supposed to have children. I shouldn't have been born. I stared down at my feet. This journey of mine to fix problems and find out answers wasn't supposed to end with me dying. I know that I was going to have some tough challenges, but I never thought that I would die because of it. It can't be that hard, right?

I suppose Apollo was right in saying that I'm inexperienced. I don't even know what to do if I came across a monster or even the person who is behind all of the Chimera attacks. Would I fight them? I mean, I wasn't exactly a great fighter in capture the flag. I hardly fought against the Chimeras. It was by sheer luck I had survived.

I then thought about how others may not be that lucky. I couldn't even imagine what the Chimeras would do to a poor 8-year-old. If it was hard for me to escape an attack, it is surely impossible for them.

I sighed. I wish I wasn't the type of person who 'chooses to do what others can do, but no one wants to do and doesn't do', but I am. It's a saying I have always held myself accountable to. And I knew that, even if it meant my death, I would save others in a heartbeat; because there is nothing worse than living knowing that you could've saved another life. I took one last look at the big tree, waiting for it to say something else, but it remained silent. I bit my lip and headed back towards the grove's exit.

When I walked out the grove, Apollo was standing right where I left him. He was singing. And oh how he could sing! It was the most beautiful voice I had ever heard. He was signing "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran. I didn't think anyone could sing it better than Ed himself, but Apollo made the original sound like a recording made by a 5-year-old. For the few seconds that I heard him sing, he made me forget all about my worries and unanswered questions. For a minute, I was at peace.

When he saw me walking towards him though, he stopped, and all of my fears came flooding back to my brain. Once I got to my back pack and put it on my shoulder, I looked at Apollo. Bits of his hair were glinting gold where the sun's rays peaked through the tree line and hit the top of his head. The right corner of his mouth was lifted slightly, creating a dimple across his cheek. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Well c'mon," I said. "Snap your fingers and take me to the camp exit. I really need to go."

Apollo laughed. "Not without you telling me what the prophecy was."

I looked down at my feet. "I can't remember."

"Yes you can. Lemme here it. It can't be that bad. I've heard so many about the world ending. And I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to end for another hundred-centuries, so it definitely can't be that bad."

I clenched my jaw. I don't know how I was able to remember all the lines, especially after hearing it only once. But I guess when you hear a prophecy about you, it's kind of ingrained in your brain.

I recited the lines just as I had heard it, being sure not to miss any words or syllables. After I was finished, I looked at Apollo, hoping that it was indeed not as bad as I had thought. But his facial expression told me otherwise. His jaw was now clenched, and he was staring at the ground in front of him. He seemed to have lost his glowing confidence.

After a few second, he finally spoke again. "If it requires the help of the Seven and me, then this is indeed 'that bad'."


	12. Chapter 12

I sat with my head in my crossed arms. I had hoped that by putting my head in my own personal cocoon that I could block out all the noise and arguing but it didn't really work. Shouting from different conversations in the tiny room made it seem like I was in the middle of a hurricane.

After I had told Apollo the prophecy I received from the grove he snapped his fingers and we ended up in the basement of the Big House, at least that's where Apollo said we were. We weren't alone though. I guess when he snapped his fingers he also zapped all the head camp councilors into the same room. He had said that Chiron would be in soon and we had an urgent matter to discuss. He explained to the others how we all needed to be like the Knights at the Round Table and discuss the issue in a civilized and professional matter. Apollo then went on to tell the others of my prophecy. After that all hell broke loose. Instead of Knights at a Round Table, it was more like a crowd on Black Friday arguing over a ping-pong table. Very civilized, very professional (Not).

I was the only one at the table sitting down. Everyone else was standing up. Apollo stood to the left of me, and it was a little too close for my liking. His hip was leaning right up against my arm. I couldn't tell if it was because he was making sure he'd know if I tried to leave or if someone tried to beat me up. I was certainly getting nasty looks from everyone. They either looked at me with disgust or with hatred. I could hear fragments of conversation. "Oh, good riddance! She should fix the mess." "The sooner she's gone the better." "Don't send the Seven! It's not their fault." Some people did defend me a little bit; mostly just Apollo from the sounds of it.

I felt as though my head was about to explode. I tried to bury my head deeper into my arms. Maybe I could disappear into the table. Suddenly, I felt something else push right up next to me on my right side. I picked up my head and looked up at it's source. Christian looked down at me and gave me a half-hearted smile. His golden hair was tousled perfectly and his blue eyes were shinning brightly. He winked at me. I smiled back at him. It was nice to know that despite everything that has happened, he was still able to keep his cocky aura. He leaned down to talk to me so I could hear him over all the noise.

"So, it looks like you're the new trouble maker."

I shoved him slightly, in a playful way. "I am not a trouble maker Jerk-face," I said.

He laughed knowing that he can easily get under my skin.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

Christian looked around the table and then back at me. "Chiron came to get me. He said I was a part of a prophecy or something according to Apollo, I mean, my Dad." He looked down at the table when he said 'my Dad'.

Before I could reply, a loud stern voice yelled, "Silence!"

I looked towards the general direction it came. Sitting in a wheel chair was Chiron. I was surprised to see that he no longer had a horse butt. Instead, he sat in a black wheel chair with a red blanket draped over legs. The tips of a pair of black tennis shoes poked out the bottom. Chiron slowly rolled himself up to the table. I wanted to ask him where his horse half was, but I didn't think now was the right time or place, especially with Chiron looking like he wanted to slap everyone across the face.

When he reached the table, Chiron pointed his index finger downwards, indicating that everyone should sit. Almost like they were robots listening to a command, everyone sat down. One of the guy head councilors, didn't actually have a chair underneath him and fell flat on his back. He then quickly retrieved a chair from the side and sat down. I wanted to laugh, but the room remained silent. Clearly, my situation was worse than I thought if no one was willing to laugh at someone who just busted his butt.

After a beat or two, Chiron turned his head to me. "Miss Cyan, will you please repeat the prophecy you were given. All of it."

I swallowed hard and nodded. I then recited the prophecy as if I were reading a PowerPoint slide for a class presentation. When I finished, I looked back at Chiron. He was stroking his beard and staring at the table.

Finally, he spoke. "It seems as though this prophecy has made it easy to identify who is to go on this quest."

He then looked to his left where Percy sat. No words were exchanged but he nodded as if they had a silent conversation between themselves. Chiron then looked to his right where Annabeth sat. She was staring at me with her arms crossed. I thought about how she hated my Mom's guts, and how she wanted me as far away from her and all her friends as possible. If my Mom had caused her and Percy to go to Tartarus, who knew what her daughter would do.

"Annabeth?" Chiron inquired as he waited for a response. When she didn't reply right away, I spoke up.

"Look, I don't want anyone to go on this quest for me. My Mom came to me last night and told me that I'm the only one who can stop all the attacks. I'll go on my own."

"No can do _mi amiga_ ," Leo said across the table from me. He was tinkering with what looked like a metal rubix cube in his hands. He sat it on the table and lead forward a bit. "When a prophecy says who goes on the quest it's sort of final. You can't change it. It clearly says that 'Seven old foes that defeated the earth' need to help you. That would mean that Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Hazel, Frank, me and...well...Jason...originally, but you know, need to go."

I didn't understand what Leo was talking about, but when he said the name 'Jason' Leo's face contorted into an expression of pain and misery. I knew that look all to well. It comes along when ever there is the death of a loved one or someone close to you. It's almost as if you are unsure whether or not to mention their name for fear of bring back not just bad, but good memories. To me, remembering the good memories of someone close to you is worse than the actual death. Those good memories are ones that make your heart get excited and lift you up, only to have reality slap you in the face and tear your heart to pieces. I understood what Leo was saying when he hesitated on the name 'Jason'; I didn't need to know the details on that one.

"And me," Christian said after a minutes pause.

I turned to look at him. My eyebrows must have been scrunched together, because he seemed to know that I was confused.

"The line 'A father and son of the sun shall follow' must mean that me and…" Christian paused for a beat, unsure of whether to say dad or Apollo. He decided to go with the later and continued on. "Me and Apollo should go on the quest. Apollo is the sun god and I'm his son."

"I'm his son too," Will said at the other end of the table. "No offense, but I've been at camp longer and I'm more experienced. Maybe I should go."

Apollo, who had been unusually quiet, finally spoke up. "No, I think it is Christian. It was no coincidence that the Chimera's found Cyan and him at the same time. It needs to be Christian."

I looked back over at Will. He seemed to slump back into his chair with an expression that seemed more like relief than rejection.

"I, however, will join you all a bit later into your quest," Apollo said as he stood up. "I must attend the godly council. It seems as though there is much we need to…discuss." Apollo said _discuss_ as if it was an inevitable failure. I wonder if the god's council is anything like the Knights at the Round table. That most certainly did not work in the case of this meeting around the ping pong table.

Apollo then snapped his fingers and he was gone.

"Well that's convenient," Percy said. "Our ride just left us. You'd think he'd be able to just snap his fingers and take us to where ever we needed to go."

"Well," Leo said as he stood up and rubbed his hands together. "It looks like we get to take my buddy Festus for a spin."

"Oh nah bro," Percy said shaking his head. "I think I'll stick to my pegasus."

I didn't have a pegasus, so I needed a ride somehow. I looked up at Leo.

"Who's Festus?"


	13. Chapter 13

"We're almost there!" I heard Leo shout over the roaring wind.

He was sitting in front of me. I felt bad that he ended up with me behind him. I had my arms wrapped around his waist and gripped the front of his shirt so tightly that he must be worried that I might rip it off. It's not that I'm afraid of heights; on the contrary, I enjoy flying and being in the sky. However, I do have a fear of sitting on flying dragons, a fear that I realized about an hour and a half ago when I jumped on this gold fire-breather. It turns out that 'Festus' isn't just a nickname for a fancy car.

Leo assured me before we boarded the Festus that he was quite safe and friendly, but that did not assure me one bit. Thankfully, Christian sat behind me. Having his arms around me helped me to remain at least at a bearable relaxed state. If he wasn't, Leo's shirt would have probably been torn to shreds by now. Not that I liked having Christian touching me or anything but having a familiar face there with me definitely helped.

Percy was flying next to Festus on a black pegasus. He kept talking to it. They seemed to be having a heated discussion on whether Dunkin' Donuts or Krispy Crème had the best glazed donuts. Whether Percy could actually talk to the flying horse, I wasn't sure; but he was definitely confirming my suspicion that he was a bit crazy if he was making up this conversation in his head.

Annabeth rode on her light tan pegusus slightly behind Festus. I hope that she was doing so as a precautionary procedure just in case anyone fell off Festus, but I couldn't say whether she'd try and catch me if I fell off. I think it was more for Leo and Christian.

Before we left camp we, well really just me, decided to go to my Grandma's house. After the meeting at the ping pong table conjured, Chiron beckoned me over to him. He waited till everyone was out of the basement before he spoke.

"Cyan, this quest of yours is quite confusing and it will hold many horrors, not just the ones in front of you."

I wasn't sure what he meant, but I got the point. I was probably going to die. I looked down at my shoes.

"I am so sorry, sir. I didn't know that coming here would cause this much trouble for you or for anyone. I don't want my burden to become anyone else's." I looked back at Chiron. I was very sorry. I never want to have anyone be put into harms way because of me. I guess that's one big difference between me and my Mom. I would much rather do something and try and fix the problem myself than tell others what to do.

Chiron sighed and nodded. "I know. I am afraid, though, that this problem is much bigger than yourself."

I swallowed hard. "I don't even know where to start. What am I supposed to do?"

"I do not have an answer for you, my dear," Chiron began, "however, I have been doing some research to find out more about you and your past."

It sounded a bit weird and frightening to have a half horse half man stocking you, but I decided to just let it slide. I didn't think Chiron, one of the greatest hero trainers in Greek mythology, was a creeper.

"Did you find anything?" I asked.

"I am unsure if it is my place to say."

Great, someone else who doesn't want to tell me who I am. Typical.

"But," he continued, "I think it is best to go to your Grandma for answers. She will help guide you in the right direction. I am sure of it."

"You know my Grandma?" I said, shocked about how good he was at finding information. He must have also worked for the FBI, CIA, or, maybe even SHIELD.

Chiron raised his eyebrows and smirked a little bit. "Yes," he said, "she is a very strong woman. I have known her for many years now."

Before I could say anything else, he nodded towards the door. "Hurry. Your crew is waiting for your instructions."

I nodded and followed his directions, even though I was bit tongue tied that he knew about my Grandma and a bit confused as to why the most inexperienced demigod was the leader of the quest.

So, I came to the decision to go to my Grandma's house for answers before we headed to the other camp (apparently there is another demigod camp; who knew!) to pick up the others in the prophecy.

Suddenly, I felt Festus jolt as we started to descend. I could see everything in my hometown of Lake Mary. I saw my old high school. _Huh, that's funny_ , I thought. I just said my 'old high school' as if I hadn't been there in ten years, when I was actually just there yesterday. It's crazy how so much can change in just 24 hours.

After about another minute we were all safely on the ground in front of my Grandma's house. I hoped that none of the neighbors would freak out too much when they saw two flying horses and a giant golden dragon in my front yard. Generally, yard art isn't supposed to be alive.

I slid off Festus and landed into the soft mushy grass with ease. When I turned around everyone was staring at me, waiting for my instructions. _Oh, right_ , I thought, _I'm the leader_. I proceeded to head to the front door of the house and everyone seemed to follow in line behind me.

The tan Spanish single style home that is indicative to Florida looked exactly the same as when I left it. The brown door loomed in front of me. I wasn't sure why I was so nervous to knock on it. I guess because I didn't know how my Grandma would react, or maybe it was most likely the fact that I was scared to learn the horrible secrets of my past. It was probably the second thing. Despite my temptation to turn around and sprint away like a scaredy cat, I knocked on the door with three definitive bangs. Ten seconds later, my Grandma threw the door open. For being 74 years old, she had quite a bit of strength.

When she saw me, the wrinkles around her eyes seemed to relax a bit more as relief passed over her face and we both gave each other a hug. As she pulled away, she then glanced behind me and saw all the others. In the glass window beside the door, I could see Percy's reflection as he awkwardly smiled and waved behind me.

My Grandma looked back at me with her mouth pulled in a tight wire and one of her eyebrows raised. "Well, I have certainly seen this scene before. You must need my help for a quest."

Her response surprised me. I wasn't sure what to say. I guess grandma's really can read minds.

"Come on in," she said turning around. "I always have cookies and sandwiches ready for this sort of occasion."


End file.
